Spiritual Successor
by VGS2 the sexy sausage
Summary: Beloved by all he knows, Pikachu one day finds himself upsetting a lot of people with a simple stroll away from home. Just how will they be able to cope with his sudden absence? (PikaBun!) (Rated M because it might get lewd and/or sad occasionally)
1. The Bonds That Grew

**Arc I:** _It's An Alright Life_

 **Chapter 1:** _The Bonds That Grew_

* * *

Enjoying the summer air against his fur, Pikachu giggled along with his friends as they raced each other across the grassy fields. Eventually, coming across the peak of a huge hill, the various pokémon cried in excitement as they dived down it.

Their momentum only increased as they slid down the grassy slope, as well as their laughter. Drawing close to the foot of the hill, a huge pile of shredded grass flew in, landing below them. This cushioned them as their momentum came to an abrupt end. Their joy, however, kept going. Even as they had to spit out clumps of grass.

Smiling, Pikachu gazed at his friends, who were still recovering from the sudden stop. He hadn't known them for very long, but he appreciated any and all friends he made.

"[That was so _fuuun!_ ]" a cubone shouted, poking his head out of the grass.

"[Heck yeah!]" a growlithe agreed, excitedly shuddering so hard that the grass was pouring off him. "[I wish every day was this fun!]"

"[You and me, both!]" an oddish added. She looked at Pikachu. "[Too bad you're not staying for very long, huh?]"

Pikachu's smile dwindled slightly. "[Yeah… gotta go back, and all that.]" He turned around to look at the other pikachu, bursting into a fit of chuckles as he saw the mouse's butt sticking into the air, his face still in the grass.

Eventually, the other pikachu managed to free his head, though not without looking dazed. "[Ughh, what day is it…?]" he asked, slumping down.

"[Still today, thankfully!]" Pikachu remarked amusedly. "[So we'd better get some more playing time in while we can!]"

The pikachu shook his head clear and grinned. "[Alright, neat!]"

Pikachu grinned back at him. It was remarkable, actually. Their looks, their voices… heck, even their _smells_ were so similar! He wondered if they were secret twins, or something. It was a shame that pikachu wouldn't be able to come along with Pikachu, but oh well. Maybe they could meet up again, someday!

Oh, speaking of which…! Hearing a familiar voice, he angled his head upwards. Against the blue sky, he saw an airborne pokémon, silhouetted by the sun's rays. However, Pikachu knew who it was.

He waved up towards the flying pokémon before turning back to his friends. "[Guys, it's-!]" He paused suddenly upon noticing he was alone. "[… Guys?]" He looked around. "[W-Where are ya?]"

He got nothing in response. Growing worried, he began to dig through the grass. "[C'mon, guys, you can come out now!]" he called out. "[It's not funny anymore, y'know…!]" Growing frustrated, he bat his paws against the grass.

Suddenly, the grass glowed purple and flew into his face. Quickly rubbing it away, he gasped at the new sight in front of him. All the grass was gone without a trace… as well as his friends.

Panicking, he could feel his breaths grow quick and heavy. What the heck was going on!?

He made a move to investigate the area, but a strange sound from above caught his attention. Gazing upwards, he saw the flying pokémon from before. She wasn't alone, however; bright lights were flashing across the sky, almost as if trying to hit the pokémon.

Pikachu could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage at the sight. Upon yelling her name, the flashing lights ceased, much to his surprise. He didn't calm, however. Instead of white lights filling the beautiful blue sky… the entirety of the air above became blanketed by a humongous net. One that was rapidly coming closer.

Pikachu screeched in horror. Especially as the giant net began grazing the top of the hill he'd slid down only minutes ago.

Just as it fell upon him, the flying pokémon came down, grabbed him, and…

… An unpleasant sensation washed over him, causing the world to instantly white out.. _._

* * *

Pikachu gasped and shot up, spluttering. "[W-What the heck…!?]" he exclaimed, feeling at his face. Afterwards, he looked around. Where was he? Was this grassy field the same as the place before? If so, where was that net and the flying pokémon, and… was he covered in water?

He heard similar noises of distress to his side. Looking, he saw Ash, still in his sleeping bag, shoot up into a seated position. His face was noticeably drenched in water, too. " _Oh no, not the starter pokémon! Ah!"_ he screamed. Pausing, he looked around. "… Wait, where am I?"

Suddenly, Pikachu heard feminine giggling from above. "Alright, they're up! Good work, Piplup!" Dawn praised.

Pikachu blinked. Shortly afterwards, upon seeing Piplup's smug face, he frowned. Of course… all a dream.

"[Hah! That's what you two slugabeds get!]" Piplup remarked, flippers on hips. "[None can stay asleep when I use my amazing Whirlpool!]"

Pachirisu, who was beside him, giggled. "[You're the best wake-er up-er!]" he praised.

The penguin proudly rubbed a flipper against his chest. "[Hah! Many thanks!]"

Rubbing his eyes, Pikachu groaned. "['Many thanks', indeed… Couldn't you have prodded us awake, or something?]"

"[Perhaps… but I much prefer this method. It's just too much fun!]"

Pikachu groaned again. The things he had to put up with…

"[Hee, yup!]" Pachirisu added, nibbling on his tail. An odd habit he'd picked up before Dawn had caught him. "[Whirlpool's so fun and… um… funny!]"

Smirking and rolling his eyes, Pikachu rubbed him on the head. "[Nice wording, kiddo…]"

The squirrel beamed. "[Heehee! Thank you!]"

After some grunts and other displeased noises, Ash had decided to lie down again. Sleeping bag held tighter to his face.

"Now, Ash…" Dawn scolded while wagging her finger condescendingly. "You've had a nice lie in… a few hours of it, in fact… but you've gotta get up now."

"Aww, but Dawwwn…!" Ash mumbled, rolling onto his front.

She put her hands on her hips. "Ash, don't you remember? You wanted to do lots of training today to make up for the lazy weekend."

He rolled over and shot up. "Oh, yeah! Training!"

Brock appeared. "And lunch is ready, too. Or I suppose breakfast, in your case," he said.

With a cry of excitement, Ash was immediately on his feet, still wearing his sleeping bag. " _Awesome!_ Let's go, Pikachu!" He reached towards Pikachu.

The mouse's eyes widened. "[Oh no… _Ack!]_ " he yelped, being dragged off the ground by his paw as Ash hopped towards where the food was being served.

Good grief. He could already tell that today was set to be 'one of those days'…

* * *

Sitting by Ash's leg as the trainer scoffed as much food as his mouth could fit, Pikachu smiled. Today's food seemed to be a fancy combination of vegetarian meatballs and sausages. Not bad at all!

Sitting beside him on a grassy bank next a weird tree were Piplup and Pachirisu, who were also eyeing up their vegetarian meals in anticipation.

"[Ooh, yes! A meal fit for a king!]" Piplup proclaimed, taking a sausage and looking it over.

"[Guess it's a good job, then, since you're an _emperor_ penguin,]" Pikachu joked, picking up a sausage of his own.

"[Oh, har har…!]" the penguin retorted before biting down. As he did, a look of content spread across his face. "[Mmm… quite good!]"

Giggling heavily at the joke, Pachirisu also bit down. Soon after, a sound of pleasure escaped his lips. "[So delightful~]"

Joining them, Pikachu took a bite of his own. However, he wasn't quite as impressed. "[Hm. It's okay… a bit too bitter for me, though.]"

"[Bitter…?]" Pachirisu asked, head tilted. "[What's that?]"

"[Oh, y'know, like… spinach. Oh, or aguav berries. Those are pretty bitter.]"

"[A bit of an exaggeration, methinks…]" Piplup replied. "[These aren't quite _that_ bitter. But yes, it's something along those lines, all the same.]"

"[Oh… so _that's_ what that flavor's called,]" Pachirisu said, eyeing up his food. "[Huh. So you don't like bitter food, then, Pikachu?]"

Pikachu shook his head. "[Can't say I'm a fan, no… I'd much rather have something nice and sweet.]"

Suddenly, something wrapped around his waist. Or rather, some _one_. "[That so? 'Cos I have something nice and sweet for ya~]" she teased.

After the surprise wore off, Pikachu exhaled slightly, though not without a small grin. "[Hi, Buneary…]"

With a feminine laugh, she maneuvered around him, bowl in hand. "[Hey, Handsome!]" she greeted, winking. She turned to the others and waved. "[Hey, you guys!]"

"[Hi, Buneary!]" Pachirisu said, waving back energetically, much to her amusement.

"[Hello, there,]" Piplup added with a slight roll of the eyes. "[Here to sweet-talk Pikachu some more? As always?]"

"[You bet'cha~]" she chimed.

Pikachu exhaled again. "[Heh… why am I not surprised?]" He moved back a bit and pat the free space to his side. "[Here, join the party.]"

"[Heehee, way ahead of ya!]" She sat down next to him, placing her bowl of food down as she did. Immediately after, she began to nuzzle him. "[So! What's the score?]"

Trying to ignore the warmth creeping through his face, and failing, he simply gave a one-armed shrug. "[Er, n-not much. We're just enjoying the food,]" he replied quickly, picking up a meatball and nibbling it.

"[Not Pikachu, though,]" Pachirisu interjected. "[He doesn't like the bitter-y-ness, much…]"

"[Ah. Pity… I think it's pretty good,]" she replied, nibbling on the end of a sausage. "[Much better than the time Brock added some spice to our pellets. That was the worst...]"

"[Can't disagree with that,]" Piplup agreed.

"[Me three... Um, too, I mean,]" Pachirisu added awkwardly, making Piplup huff amusedly.

Stopping her nuzzling assault, Buneary shot a coy look Pikachu's way. "[Besides, it'll never be as hot as you, Pikachu, eh?]"

"[Pfft. Every opportunity…]" Pikachu grumbled, trying to look displeased but failing as he finished off the meatball.

After a giggle, she suddenly seemed interested in something. "[Oh, speaking of beauty… I heard that a certain _someone_ tried catching up on too much beauty sleep. That true?]"

His cheeks warmed ever so slightly. "[Er, eheh. Maybe a little…]"

Piplup shrugged bemusedly and leaned against the tree. "[If two hours is 'a little', I'd hate to see what a lot is…]"

Pachirisu and Buneary both laughed at the joke. Pikachu, however, could only bashfully look off to the side. "[Yeah, well… I was comfy, so sue me.]"

Buneary murmured contemplatively. "[Hmm… y'know what? I will. I'm-a gonna get the feds on ya!]"

He chuckled. "[Yeah, yeah... I'd like to see ya try!]"

"[Oh, I will, don't worry,]" she said in an annoyed monotone.

Surprised, he glanced at her. Her brows were furrowed seriously. He began to grow nervous. "[… Err… Buneary? Y-You're… not actually going to…?]"

Her face contorted slightly. Eventually, she burst into laughter. "[No way, José! I'm just kidding with ya. Besides, what would I even tell the police? That you slept too much?]" She rubbed his head with one of her ears. "[You're so naïve, y'know that?]"

Although relieved, he groaned at her. "[… Yeah… I've been told that a few times…]"

"[She isn't wrong,]" Piplup added. "[You'd believe us if we told you the stars were to fall tomorrow.]"

"[H-Hey, that's not true!]" Pikachu's face warmed again."[… Anymore...]"

All of his friends giggled at his expense.

"[Um, a-anyway,]" he interrupted hastily, "[that wasn't the only reason I slept for so long, come to think of it.]"

"[Oh, yes?]" Piplup replied. "[Well, what're your other reasons, then, pray tell?]"

"[Well… I was having a really interesting dream. I was eager to see it play out.]"

"[Oh? What kinda dream?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Well…]"

"[Was I in it?]" Piplup and Buneary both asked at once.

Pikachu huffed amusedly. "[Nope. In fact, I don't think I recognized anybody in it…]" His two friends gave disappointed responses. "[Anyway, lessie…]"

He began to recount his dream-turned-nightmare to them, leaving in all the details he could remember.

As he finished, Pachirisu began to nervously nibble on his tail. "[Ohh, that last part was scary…]" he mumbled.

"[I guess that's what years of being chased down by Team Rocket does to ya,]" Buneary responded. "[Wouldn't surprise me if they _actually_ tried a giant net, next. Like, a massive one.]"

"[I'll say. Same goes for those lasers, too,]" Piplup agreed. He tilted his head. "[That flying pokémon, though… was it an acquaintance of yours?]"

"[Beats me. Didn't even know her species,]" Pikachu replied. "[It was so strange, though. I felt… comforted when I saw her.]"

"[Her, huh?]" Buneary asked, crossing her arms. "[Hmph! I hope I don't have a rival, or something…!]" she said, a look of mock-irritation on her face.

"[Haha, I doubt it. You scare away all the other girls with how forward you are…]" he replied, nudging her in the arm.

She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "[Good!]"

"[So, those other friends of yours…]" Piplup continued after biting through a sausage and swallowing, "[you really didn't recognize any of them, either?]"

"[Nope.]" Pikachu paused and rocked his head from side to side. "[Well… I dunno. Maybe nope.]"

"[ _Maybe_ nope…?]" Pachirisu asked, having swallowed a meatball.

"[Well… y'see… before meeting Ash- Well, more like just before meeting Professor Oak, I… kind of… didn't know anything.]"

Everyone gave him blank stares.

Piplup tilted his head. "[… And by that, you're referring to…?]"

"[… Anything! Well, memory-wise, anyway,]" Pikachu explained. "[One day, I just woke up feeling groggy with no memories of my own. Took me an hour to even remember what species I was…]" He picked up a meatball and stared at it. "[I knew about loads of general stuff, but… everything about my past's completely blank.]"

The small group gasped lightly in response.

"[So… you have an entire life that you just… don't know about?]" Buneary asked.

"[Basically,]" Pikachu responded. "[And I wasn't just hatched, either. I wasn't a pichu… and like I said, I had some general knowledge of stuff… so there must have been _something_ before then…]"

"[Oh, man…]" Piplup muttered, "[I sure hope your record is a clean one, then. I don't want to find out that you murdered some poor pokémon and forgot, or something.]"

"[Oh, no… you didn't do _that_ , did you?]" Pachirisu asked, looking worried.

"[I hope not, either…]" Pikachu replied before flashing him a reassuring smile, "[but I highly, highly doubt it, so don't worry.]" He looked off to the side. "[And if so… I never wanna find out.]"

"[Well, it wouldn't be _all_ bad,]" Buneary said, picking up a meatball. "[After all, it'll make you one of those loveable rogues, won't it?]"

"[Haha! Ughh… only _you'd_ think something like that,]" Pikachu replied, shaking his head amusedly.

"[It ain't wrong, though~]"

As Pikachu playfully rolled his eyes, Pachirisu tapped his own chin. "[So… what were your dream friends like?]"

"[Well…]" Pikachu started, "[one of them was a crazy growlithe… one of them was an oddish… I think one of them was a… um, something. Can't remember off the top of my head…]" He snapped his fingers. "[Oh yeah! And another one was a pikachu. One that looked remarkably like me, actually.]"

"[Ooh, that's cool!]" Pachirisu chimed. "[Was he your twin?]"

"[Right down to the way we sounded, yeah. It was so strange. Cool, but strange.]"

"[Two Pikachus? Sounds like a dream of Buneary's…]" Piplup snarked.

"[I'm pretty sure it's eighty percent of her dreams,]" Pikachu replied. He felt some sweat go down the side of his head. "[… Kosher or not…]"

Buneary blushed lightly and gave them both a look. "[H-Hey…! What are you implying, exactly?]"

"[Oh, nothing…!]" they both replied, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. "[When there's children present, too…]"

"[Hm? I don' undershtand…]" Pachirisu mumbled, halfway through chewing a sausage.

"[N-Nothing, Sweetie,]" Buneary replied, giving him a quick one-armed hug. "[They're just being dim, so don't mind 'em.]"

"[Give it a few years, and I'm sure you'll understand,]" Piplup added. "[At the rate Buneary's going, methinks it'll be a crash course on the subject, too.]"

She stuck her tongue out at him while he and Pikachu chuckled. Pachirisu's head was tilted the entire time.

Eventually, Buneary gave Pikachu a curious look. "[Hey, actually… do you think that dream twin of yours was some kind of figment of the past?]"

"[A… figment of the past…?]" Pikachu asked, which Buneary nodded to. "[Heh… very fancy wording for you.]"

She beamed and winked at him. "[Hee, impressed?]"

"[A little, maybe…]" he replied, smirking. "[What do ya mean, though?]"

"[Well, I dunno. Maybe you had a brother before your amnesia? A particularly attractive one, at that?]"

He shrugged. "[Maybe. Who knows?]" He exhaled slowly. "[Sometimes I do wonder about who my family were, though. I really hope nobody misses me too much…]"

The others gave him sympathetic looks.

"[Aww, that'd be so sad…]" Pachirisu muttered, fiddling with his food.

"[Much agreed…]" Piplup said. "[However, don't fear! If you awoke in the wild and nobody came to look for you in that time, it must mean you'd already said goodbye to your family! Most wild pokémon do before traveling around, after all.]"

"[That ain't wrong,]" Buneary agreed. "[You guys found me a few miles away from where I was born.]"

"[Me too!]" Pachirisu added. "[When I left, I runned for ages until I bumped into Dawn.]"

"[Er… you 'ran' for ages,]" Piplup corrected.

"[Um… yeah, that. Whoops…]" the squirrel replied, cheeks reddening.

Pikachu chuckled briefly. "[Makes sense… but it would've been nice to see 'em again, anyway. Just like you guys. I'm sure all of you wanna see yours, too.]"

His friends mumbled out some agreements.

"[Well…]" Buneary started, "[when you meet your family again… maybe your memories will get jump-started. Who knows?]"

"[ _When_ I do?]" Pikachu asked.

She pumped a paw. "[Heck yeah! One day you _will_ , and it'll be the best freaking day of your life that doesn't involve dating me!]"

He couldn't help but smile warmly. Even as he rolled his eyes at that last statement. "[Maybe. Thanks.]"

Happy again, the trio continued to dine on their vegetarian meals while exchanging small talk. Even with the bitterness of the food, Pikachu greatly enjoyed himself. Even as Buneary ate a vegetarian sausage in an… interesting manner, just to get a rise out of him. Not that he really minded...

Eventually, Ash excitedly called everyone together for their daily training. As Pikachu moved over with the others, however...the topic from earlier began to weigh on his mind again. _Would_ he ever find out about his past life?

Well… even if he didn't, he supposed it didn't matter too much. Ever since the day he'd met Ash, his life had been nothing short of happy, so he had nothing to complain about.

All the same… it would be nice to know, if nothing else.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 24/12 (December)/2016

 **Word count:** 3,080

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** So there we go! Another pokéfic, just for you, my fine fellows! I was gonna hold this one off for a bit, until I had at least another chapter ready… but nahh, it's almost Christmas, so wynaut! Here ya go, my fine friends! A mysterious past, a wordy Piplup and a shameless Buneary, all for you guys! :P

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** He heard some creaming to his side.'

(Was it Buneary? Honhon!)

 **#2:** "[Not much. We're just enjoying the fooc.]"

(Oh, foocing hell...)

 **#3:** 'She rubbed his head with one of her rears.'

(Buneary sure is… um… eager!)

 **#4:** '"[Aww, that'd be so sad…]" Pachirisu said, fiddling with his sausage.'

(Suddenly, I found myself wishing I'd gone with a better choice of food for them to eat…)

Alrighty then, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, too, paisanos! :D

* * *

 **Next up:** _Training!_


	2. The Teams That Trained

**Chapter 2:** _The Teams That Trained_

* * *

Brock raised an arm high above his head. "Alright, everyone… ready?" he asked.

Ash and Dawn both gave an energetic reply before giving each other some sass talk. All the pokémon on the sidelines cheered along, as well. Especially Buneary, who could easily be heard over the others.

Inhaling, Pikachu nodded towards his battle partner, Buizel, who nodded back just as enthusiastically, arms crossed. Taking a four-legged battle stance, the mouse then turned to face his opponents, Piplup and Ambipom.

Eyeing the monkey up, Pikachu frowned determinedly. Like always, he had a bet going with her. Whoever lost this match had to do a favor for the winner… and after what happened _last_ time, he knew he had no option but to win this thing. Of course, he could have opted out of taking the challenge… but where was the fun in that?

"[Ready to lose, dudes?]" Ambipom asked, adopting her own fighting stance.

"[Come off it! You know you don't stand a chance against _us!_ ]" Buizel replied, smirking.

"[We shall see about that!]" Piplup exclaimed, posing. "[We may not be trained in the art of regular battling… but believe me! Our natural talent will _shine through!_ ]"

The three pokémon all turned towards Pikachu, waiting for his trash talk. However, he was kind of at a loss. Dangit, how could he compete with _those_ kinds of lines? "[… Err… um… You! … Er…]" he stuttered.

"[… C'mon, Pikachu, don't make it two against one, here,]" Buizel said, looking impatient.

"[I-I'm trying!]" Pikachu replied flusteredly. "[Err…]" His face lit up. "[No, wait! I've got it!]" He grinned cockily. "[Are your butts ready to get kicked? 'Cos my foot's itching to-]"

"C'mon, Brock, let's go!" Ash called out excitedly. "I'm all fired up!"

"Alright, sure, let's _begin!_ " Brock yelled, bringing his lifted arm down to officially start the match.

"[Oh, c'mon…!]" Pikachu groaned, flopping to the floor.

"[Nice work…]" Buizel said dryly while Piplup and Ambipom laughed to themselves. Pikachu could only groan louder.

"Alright, Pikachu," Ash started, "start off with a Thunderbolt on Piplup! And Buizel, Aqua Jet towards Ambipom!"

Getting back into position, Pikachu charged some electricity in his cheeks. To his side, Buizel enveloped himself in water and flew towards Ambipom.

Dawn outstretched an arm. "Piplup, use Whirlpool on the Thunderbolt! And Ambipom, Double Team, then hit Buizel with Focus Punch!"

Pikachu fired off a large bolt of electricity at Piplup, who was currently glowing, flippers above his head. As the electricity drew near, the penguin formed a large swirling vortex of water above himself, which he flung at Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

Once the two attacks collided, Pikachu briefly glanced to the side. He saw Buizel go through an Ambipom-shaped hologram. He was then punched out of his water funnel by a glowing fist on one of the monkey's tails.

Pikachu frowned. That wasn't a good start. Looking back at Piplup, he jolted upon seeing his own electricity flying back in his direction. Panicking, he tried to jump out of the way, only to be painfully struck in the side. It wasn't very effective, but it stung enough to make him squeal.

Falling to the ground, he looked towards Piplup, who appeared triumphant. His Whirlpool attack had noticeably dissipated, too.

"[Ahah! Nice try!]" the penguin boasted. "[It is too bad that my genius knows no bounds!]"

"[H-How…?]" Pikachu said before frowning. "[Hmph, well, I'll get ya next time!]"

Piplup smirked. "[I'll bet you cannot! In fact, why not try another Thunderbolt towards me?]"

"[Gladly!]" Pikachu charged another Thunderbolt and fired it towards Piplup.

Just like before, Piplup charged another Whirlpool and flung it at Pikachu's attack. As the two collided, Pikachu's electricity somehow managed to circle around the water vortex and redirect itself towards him.

Not expecting this, he made another flustered attempt at dodging, only for his tail to get struck. Like before, it stung enough to make him cry out.

"Ah, Pikachu!" Ash called out in surprise.

Piplup burst into laughter. "[I can't believe you tried that a second time! What were you expecting?]"

"[Not pain…]" Pikachu grumbled.

Collecting himself, Ash frowned and pointed at Piplup. "Get in close with Quick Attack, then _Iron Tail him!_ " he exclaimed.

Feeling himself getting lighter, Pikachu zipped forward at the speed of sound towards the penguin.

"Ambipom, use Double Team to-" Dawn called out before halting, hearing Ash and seeing Pikachu's advance. " _Gah!_ Piplup, counter with Bubble Beam!"

Piplup inhaled before shooting a huge myriad of fast bubbles in Pikachu's direction.

Not slowing, Pikachu sidestepped the attack, allowing it to explode next to him. He sidestepped again as Piplup shot a second round of bubbles at him. Once close enough, he jumped high into the air and fell towards Piplup, tail feeling solid and weighted.

"Piplup, Peck!" Dawn ordered quickly.

Beak glowing, Piplup brought his head up to intercept Pikachu's metallic tail and shield himself. However, the force of the attack was strong enough to knock him backwards off his feet.

Landing, Pikachu swung around again, ready to hit the penguin with his steel tail. Suddenly, Ambipom appeared to his side from nowhere, startling him out of attacking.

Recovering from the shock, he was relieved to see that it was just one of Ambipom's afterimages, created by Double Team. Just as he looked back towards Piplup, he got a face full of explosive bubbles, which knocked him a fair distance away.

"Pikachu, no!" Ash cried out. "Buizel, help him out with a Sonic Boom on Piplup!"

While Pikachu picked himself up, he glanced at the weasel, who was dodging around Ambipom's punches. Jumping onto one of her fists, Buizel flicked his glowing tails in Piplup's direction, flinging a shockwave towards him.

Screeching, Piplup leapt forwards to dodge the attack. It exploded where he'd once stood, throwing him off balance.

" _Now,_ Pikachu!" Ash called out.

With some charging, Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt towards Piplup, which struck him instantly.

Grinning, Pikachu pumped up the voltage. "[ _Checkmate,_ buddy!]"

Piplup's screams grew louder. That is, until they stopped abruptly, only to be replaced by some feminine grunting.

Pikachu turned down the voltage to see what was going on. Noticing a giant hand being electrified in place of where Piplup had been, his eyes widened. Oh, drat.

"Aha! Great work, Ambipom!" Dawn cheered.

Still shooting out electricity, Pikachu glanced behind the hand. He saw Ambipom, who was still fighting off Buizel with her remaining hand. The weasel seemed to be struggling against her punches, even with the electricity surging through the monkey's body. She was tenacious, to say the least.

"Now retaliate with _Swift!_ " Dawn ordered.

Ambipom's hand, the one closest to Pikachu, began to glow brightly. Seconds later, a barrage of stars shot out of it, circling around Pikachu's Thunderbolt to smack him directly in the face.

Crying out in pain, Pikachu ceased his attack and rolled to the side to avoid further harm. The rest of the stars whizzed past him.

"Great! Now, keep it up with more Swift! " Dawn called.

"Pikachu, _dodge it!_ " Ash cried.

Pikachu didn't need to be told twice. As Ambipom readied another round of stars, he got back to his feet and ran in a circle around her. He felt a few stars painfully graze his tail as he barely moved out of the way, but it didn't stop him from running.

Looking ahead, he saw Ambipom's other hand smack Buizel away. Glowing, it started firing off a constant volley of shots in front of Pikachu's path.

He thought about stopping to avoid running into the attack… but he could also sense shots coming in from behind, most likely from the monkey's other hand. Whether he stopped or continued, he was going to be seeing stars.

"Pikachu, _Quick Attack on through!_ " Ash exclaimed.

Feeling lighter, Pikachu zipped forwards at a much faster speed, boldly going through the attack. He grit his teeth as the stars assaulted his side, but he kept running. Within seconds, he made his way through the barrage, much to Ambipom's surprise. His side smarted, but he was glad it wasn't anything worse.

" _Alright!_ Now, _into Ambipom!"_ Ash ordered.

Turning on a dime, Pikachu rushed towards the normal-type. Once within range, he leapt towards her, ready to give her a ramming. Getting close, however, he was interrupted when he smacked into a swirling vortex of water instead. One that surrounded Piplup, who was spinning around on the spot.

"[This is for the electrical assault, _friend!_ ]" the penguin exclaimed.

Pikachu found himself spinning around the Whirlpool, his momentum not slowing. With a yelp, he soon shot off in a different direction. Towards Buizel.

The mouse and the weasel both screamed before crashing into each other, rolling into a heap a fair distance away.

"[Ughh… smooth move, ya knuckle head,]" Buizel chided.

"[Hey, who's a knuckle head?]" Pikachu responded irritably. "[It's not like I was asking to be flung at you!]"

Buizel sighed. "[Alright, sorry. Let's just get up and-]"

"Piplup, jump onto Ambipom!" Dawn called out suddenly.

Pikachu and Buizel gave each other an odd glance as Piplup happily got into position.

"[… You got any clues, Pikachu?]" Buizel asked, pushing himself up into a seated posture.

"[None,]" Pikachu replied, rolling onto his front and standing on all fours. "[Still, stay on your toes!]"

The water-type stood up and nodded. "[Right.]"

"Now, Ambipom…" Dawn continued, "time for the Swift dance! Piplup, you join in with Bubble Beam!"

"[Alright, cool! Time for my _specialty!_ ]" Ambipom chimed, getting onto all fours.

"[As it is for _mine!_ ]" Piplup added, standing on her head.

"[Huh? Dancing…?]" Buizel muttered.

Pikachu gasped. "[Oh, no, watch out! She's gonna start shooting stars everywhere!]"

Ambipom used her paws to swing her feet around, making her spin around on the spot. Piplup responded with some surprisingly fancy footwork, staying on top of her head while she performed a breakdance.

As she built up enough momentum, her tails began to glow. Golden stars were soon being fired everywhere across the field with reckless abandon. They filled the air in an almost-dome like shape, swirling around her and Piplup in an impressive pattern.

"[… Oh. Right,]" Buizel mumbled in horror.

"[ _Run!_ ]" Pikachu shouted, shooting off in a direction. He could hear Buizel's footsteps following closely behind soon after.

"Pikachu! Buizel! Dodge as best as you can! And don't stop!" Ash cried out.

It was easier said than done. As the stars reached them, they found themselves hopping around all over the place. It was a constant struggle to avoid being hit by the many stray shots, which sometimes even managed to painfully graze them. Looking around, Pikachu could even see the bystanders moving back several steps to avoid being hit themselves. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed Buneary jumping back in surprise, but he tried to ignore the sensation.

As if the monkey's attack wasn't enough of a hassle, a continuous stream of bubbles was being fired out of the chaotic mess of stars. Unlike Ambipom's Swift, however, they were following behind the mouse and weasel, forcing them to quickly keep moving forwards.

Eventually, Pikachu stopped hearing Buizel's footsteps behind him. Assuming that he'd taken too many hits and had fainted, Pikachu gulped. This wasn't looking good at all, was it?

Despite the hopelessness of the situation, he continually kept trying to dodge shot after shot. He jumped over one, ducked under another, sidestepped away from several more… and scrambled around to avoid many others. Ash yelled out a command of some kind, but Pikachu couldn't concentrate enough to listen properly.

Eventually, a star hit his foot, sending him sprawling into another star, which painfully knocked him to the floor. From there, he cowered as Piplup's bubbles came closer, threatening to bombard him. He was finished.

Sure enough, he felt water flicker across the side of his face as the bubbles flew closer. He then felt the sensation of someone's arms being wrapped around his waist. After that, he was hoisted high into the air, just as Piplup's attack swept under him.

Surprised, he looked up at the pokémon holding him. He was relieved to see Buizel, who was using both tails to fly away into the air.

"[Close one, huh?]" the weasel asked amusedly.

The mouse smiled back at him. "[Yeah… no kidding.]" A few stars whizzed past his tail. "[Ah! Let's not rest yet, though!]"

"[Right, way ahead of ya!]" Buizel replied determinedly. He then took evasive action, swerving and swooping around all of the airborne projectiles.

Being in the air, the weasel had a much simpler time keeping the two of them safe. Some stars whizzed past Pikachu every now and again, but, thanks to Buizel's proficiency at flying, the mouse stayed safe. He was almost jealous of Buizel, to be honest.

Eventually, the chaos below subsided. Looking to see why their opponents' attacks were petering out, he noticed them now standing next to each other, both in a neutral position. Amazingly, Ambipom didn't even seem a _little_ dizzy, despite all of the spinning she'd done.

Dawn began commanding them to do something else. Unfortunately, Pikachu couldn't make out what was being said. He and Buizel were too high up, and the lingering stars were still causing a lot of noise.

Once Dawn finished, Piplup fired off a huge stream of bubbles straight up. They flew high into the air, far away from where Pikachu and Buizel were flying. Soon, their momentum slowed before coming back down towards the penguin. No longer shooting bubbles, he summoned a large Whirlpool above him. Once the bubbles fell closer, he began to collect them in the vortex of water.

Pikachu, who still had Buizel's arms around him, curiously watched the odd show Piplup was putting on. He tried to listen out for Ash's commands, but the noises of rushing water drowned him out. No pun intended.

"[Any clue what they're up to?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Nope, but I'm sure it's something contest-related, so watch it,]" Buizel replied. "[Last thing you want is Ambipom winning that bet of yours. Especially after _last_ time…]"

Pikachu nodded, a shiver travelling up his spine. "[Y-Yeah…]"

Before too long, dozens upon dozens of bubbles were now swirling around Piplup's Whirlpool in a controlled manner. Eventually, the waters rapidly sped up, spinning the bubbles around at a much faster rate.

For a while, Pikachu wondered if the guy was just showing off, as he often did. A breath caught in his throat upon realizing that all of the bubbles were combining together after colliding. As a result, a much larger bubble began to form. It continued to grow until it looked about Ash's size. Maybe even bigger.

Suddenly, Ambipom jumped up and, using Focus Punch, smashed a fist through the Whirlpool and into the mega bubble. It was launched towards the flying duo at an alarming speed.

They both screeched in distress as it came closer. Acting instinctively, Pikachu pushed aside Buizel's arms, jumped out and, solidifying his tail, slammed it into the bubble. Like a rubber ball, it flew straight back at them as he fell.

Luckily, Buizel was quick to catch him by the paws. The weasel opened his mouth to speak to the mouse afterwards, but he never got the chance. Ambipom had jumped up and punched the bubble again, launching it back at them.

"[Oh, holy Mew!]" Buizel exclaimed. "[Pikachu, Iron Tail, _now_!]"

With a start, Pikachu solidified his tail again. Before he could ask, Buizel swung him like a bat, making him squeal in surprise. Mid-swing, his metallic tail smacked into the bubble, making it fly back down at a faster speed than before.

Buizel gave a slight sigh of relief. "[Hah… like my idea?]" he asked.

Panting slightly, Pikachu frowned up at him. "[No way! Why didn't you just dodge it, or someth-]" He squawked as Buizel swung him again, using his still-metallic tail to deflect the bubble Ambipom had punched back at them.

"[Alright, no time for talking,]" Buizel retorted, preparing himself for another swing. "[She ain't finished yet.]"

"[Oh, no…]" Pikachu groaned, yelping as he was swung again.

This continued for quite a while. Ambipom would punch the giant bubble, only for it to be knocked back, thanks to Buizel taking a swing with Pikachu. At first, Buizel simply just swung the mouse back and forth. As the speed of the bubble increased, however, Buizel found himself having to be more creative to keep up. He did mid-air loops and spins in order to keep the momentum running strong. Pikachu hated the entire experience, especially once he felt his brunch threatening to make a reappearance more than a few times.

It was interesting, however. It was almost like a game of ping pong. Something that Ambipom had expressed a huge interest in, as of late. Pikachu would've been amused by that, were he not being used as a living paddle.

More rounds of bubble tennis passed by. Eventually, Pikachu heard Buizel panting. That wasn't a good sign. If he let that thing hit them, then they were good as toast.

Pikachu considered telling Buizel to just fly out of the way. However, something a short distance away caught his eye before he could. It was a large, tangrowth-like mecha, with multiple tentacles coming out of it. Noticeably, it had a giant red R on the front.

… Oh, screw that. Letting go of one of Buizel's paws, Pikachu swiveled himself around and smashed his tail into the bubble, sending it flying into the distance. Buizel was thrown off by Pikachu's sudden movement, but he soon corrected himself.

The bubble sailed through the air, eventually colliding with the mecha and noisily exploding against it. After some distant, goofy screaming, the entire thing collapsed and blew up, launching three distinct figures into the air.

Pikachu saw everyone in the area below stared at the spectacle. Including Ash, who looked like he was shouting something at the mecha, though Pikachu couldn't hear him over its explosions. Not that it took a genius to know what he was yelling.

"[Wow… good going,]" Buizel praised, holding the mouse by both paws again.

Pikachu smiled up at him. "[Thanks!]" He frowned determinedly. "[We're not done yet, though. Not 'til we win!]"

The weasel smirked. "[Right.]"

Pikachu looked back down towards his trainer, whose attention was back on the fight. "[Alright,]" the mouse started, "[now let's go closer to A- _Aah,_ _watch out!_ ]"

Yelping, Buizel flew to the side, barely scraping past a huge stream of bubbles that Piplup had fired their way. Buizel soared away afterwards, the penguin's bubbles hot on his heels.

"[Hey, go down lower!]" Pikachu cried out, gripping on for dear life. "[Ash'll know what to do! We just need to get close enough to listen!]"

"[Right, good idea,]" Buizel replied, getting ready to go in for a dive. Before he did, however, some familiar stars whizzed in his path, forcing him to sharply swerve to the side. "[ _Ah!_ No, actually, bad idea! Ambipom's got some… crazy anti-air stuff… going on.]"

Pikachu huffed in annoyance. He was right. If he tried going down, Ambipom would probably end up snagging them with Swift.

The mouse's ears pricked as he heard an especially loud wheeze from above. Looking up at Buizel, his suspicions were confirmed. The weasel was panting heavily, and he had sweat pouring down the side of his head. Using his tails to fly must have been taking its toll on him, especially while carting Pikachu around. They needed to win soon, or things weren't going to end well.

Glancing around, however, that was looking unlikely. Piplup was still tracking them with Bubble Beam, and Ambipom was leading her shots, complicating matters. Turning his gaze downwards, he saw Ash looking back in his direction while doing some weird gesticulations. He was patting his cheeks with both hands before pointing them towards Piplup's bubbles.

… A light bulb went off in Pikachu's head. "[Don't give up, Buizel! I think I know what Ash wants from us!]" he said.

Buizel only panted in response.

"[I know you're exhausted, but c'mon, Buizel!]" Pikachu urged.

"[… Huh, what? Exhausted?]" Buizel suddenly replied.

"[Well, yeah, it's pretty easy to tell. You look like you're gonna drop out the sky any second.]"

Swerving to avoid some of Ambipom's stars, the weasel paused. After a second, he frowned down at Pikachu. "[Hey, no way! I could keep going for _miles!_ ]"

Pikachu huffed loudly in amusement at the sudden show of pride. Classic Buizel.

Hearing the mouse's reaction, Buizel's frown deepened. "[Don't believe me? Alright, I'll show ya!]" Straining, he forced his tails to spin faster, speeding his flight.

Pikachu was impressed at his proud determination, but he was also slightly worried. Going faster would only tire the water-type out more, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Oh, well. No time like the present, then. Pikachu allowed his cheeks to build up some electricity. He was careful not to let it travel across his body, which would've been bad news for Buizel. Once charged enough, he fired a Thunderbolt towards the stream of bubbles, which struck one of them as it zipped by. Upon hitting it, the electricity rapidly began to travel down the line of projectiles. It made the attack look like a long, electrical necklace made of bubbles.

Soon, the electricity drew close to Piplup, who let loose a shrill scream before an explosion rang out. His attack stopped abruptly after that. Noticeably, no stars could be seen, either.

Pikachu and Buizel cheered loudly. Below, Ash could be seen pumping a fist into the air in celebration. They'd done it! This battle was theirs! Glancing at Dawn, he could see her calling out to her pokémon, who were hidden in the settling dust… though after an explosion like that, it was fruitless, surely.

Still flying, though no longer moving about, Buizel smirked. "[Guess that's that, then. Not bad, Pikachu!]" he praised.

"[Couldn't have done it without'cha, buddy!]" Pikachu chimed back. "[Okay, let's go down for our congratulations. We've earned 'em!]"

"[Right.]" Buizel allowed his tails to slow slightly, letting him descend.

A sudden glint from the dust caught Pikachu's eye. Looking over, he- "[ _Ack!_ ]" he yelped.

Without warning, he and Buizel were surrounded by hundreds of big stars, which were arranged in a huge, sloped tunnel shape. Looking through to the other side of the starry tube, he saw Ambipom continually circling her tails' hands around, shooting stars simultaneously. She was also holding Piplup close to her body with her regular paws. Amazingly, he looked no worse for wear. The heck!?

In a panic, Buizel spun his tails faster to rise higher. However, in doing so, he accidentally smacked his tails into the Swift stars above them, stopping their momentum dead.

"[Oh, crap! _Aghh!_ ]" Buizel exclaimed, now in free fall.

Also falling, Pikachu yelped in shock. Taking a quick swing, he flipped out of Buizel's grasp. Running on pure instinct, he used Quick Attack to land onto one of the many stars as they zipped by. For dear life, he began jumping from one to the other as fast as he could, using them like speedy platforms to go down the tunnel. Behind him, he heard Buizel's cries cut off, only be replaced with pained yelps as he fell into the attack tunnel. Much to Pikachu's dismay, he went quiet after that.

Gulping, Pikachu pressed onwards, slowly advancing on the monkey and penguin. He had no idea how they'd escaped that explosion… and, quite frankly, he had no idea how he was going to get through this, himself… but he had to stay determined if he was going to win this.

Thanks to his keen reactions and footwork, he managed to keep up with the chaos, still leaping from star to star. He didn't celebrate just yet, though. In the distance, at the foot of the slanted tunnel, he could see Piplup preparing another attack. Oh, drat. Unlike before, Pikachu wouldn't be able to Thunderbolt him back properly without losing focus and slamming into the stars.

"[Prepare yourself for a crushing defeat, my friend! Hyaaa!]" Piplup cried, unleashing a torrent of bubbles at him.

Pikachu jumped to some stars on the side, dodging the attack. Like before, Piplup continued to follow him with his bubbles, so he kept moving, both forwards and sideways. In his desperation to avoid it, he had to defy gravity and run up the starry tube's inner wall, then upside-down across its ceiling. He was lucky he had the speed to pull off this utter perversion of physics.

Doing the same to come back down to the floor of the tube, he noticed that Piplup's assault had ceased. Glancing ahead, the mouse noticed that the water-type had produced a Whirlpool in front of his beak. Inside that was a surprisingly large bubble, which spun around the water vortex while growing larger still.

With a battle cry and a flick of the head, he fired the big bubble from the Whirlpool like a cannon ball. It flew through the tunnel in a fast spiral pattern.

Eyeing it up, Pikachu drew a sharp breath. At the speed it was spinning through the starry tube, he had little chance of getting through without taking a heavy hit…

" _Pikachu!_ " Ash's recognizable voice cried out from below, catching his attention. " _Use one of the stars!_ "

The stars…? Pikachu wondered what he meant. Almost stumbling, he lingered on a star for a second to regain his bearings. As a result, he flew further away from Piplup and Ambipom's direction… though it also brought him away from the approaching bubble, giving him a little more time to think, so it was welcomed.

… Wait. No, he had it! Standing on his two legs and posing like a surfer, he kicked his heel into the back of the star. As a result, it twisted off course, allowing him to make a tight u-turn to fly back towards his opponents. He made sure to correct himself to stay upright afterwards. From there, he flew through the middle of the tunnel, ducking as the big bubble flew right above his head.

Screeching, Piplup panicked and fired off a ton of bubbles at Pikachu without Dawn's input. Ambipom, who was still holding him, tried to calm him to no avail.

Kicking the back of the star and holding on, Pikachu pulled up to use it as a shield. Once the bubbles collided with it, they bounced off, scattering in multiple directions. Seeing an opening, he jumped up and, solidifying his tail while sending some electricity to it, spun around and slammed it into a lone bubble. It was sent flying towards his opponents like an electrical missile.

Piplup and Ambipom only had time to scream before the bubble slammed into them, blowing up on impact with an electrical explosion.

Most of the stars dissipated, allowing Pikachu to safely fall down. However, he noticed Piplup and Ambipom were still in the game, barely managing to get back to their feet.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried as the mouse fell towards him. He had both hands out in a volleyball-like pose. "Let's finish 'em off with _Volt Tackle!_ "

Grinning, Pikachu prepared himself. Landing onto Ash's hands, he was flung upwards in his opponents' direction. Spinning rapidly, he charged up as much electricity as he could muster. "[Time for that butt kicking I was talking about! _Hyaaaaah!_ ]" he exclaimed, tumbling towards them as energy surrounded him.

Their horrified expressions were the last thing he saw before colliding into them, causing an explosion of electricity.

It took a long time for the dust to settle as Pikachu picked himself up, nursing his aching body. Once it did, he looked around at the small crater he'd created. He saw Piplup and Ambipom lying in unflattering positions, both out for the count.

"And that's it!" Brock called out, holding an arm up. "Pikachu wins!"

Dawn ran over to Piplup and Ambipom, looking worried. Ash and the pokémon on the sidelines, however, cheered for the mouse. Especially one of them in particular, who had an expression of pure admiration on her face.

Looking around, he saw Buizel lying on top of Mamoswine's back, seemingly having landed there earlier. He looked roughed up, but he was otherwise fine. The mouse couldn't tell if the look on his face was an impressed one or a jealous one. All the same, the weasel returned the thumbs up that he'd given him.

" _Alright!_ Awesome job, buddy!" Ash exclaimed, running towards Pikachu.

"[Thanks, Ash!]" the mouse replied, allowing himself to be scooped into a hug. Hugging back, he laughed along with his trainer. They were a true dream team as always, it seemed.

Hearing Piplup and Ambipom coming to, he hopped out of Ash's arms to move over to them.

"Good job, you two," Dawn praised. "Even if you didn't win, you still did great!"

"[Thanks, Dawn…]" Ambipom muttered, smiling weakly.

"[Yes, many thanks…]" Piplup groaned tiredly.

Smiling, Dawn turned her attention to Ash, who began to commend her on her improved battling techniques, and on perfecting Ambipom's break-dance. While doing that, they walked over in Buizel's direction, most likely to praise him, too.

Piplup rubbed his head. "[It's a shame that no amount of praise will make the aching in my head go away, though…]"

"[Heh. That's pretty rich, coming from you, pal,]" Ambipom remarked. "[That ego of yours could heal broken bones if we sang enough praises your way.]"

He huffed at her. "[Just because one enjoys a little praise every now and again…]"

"[Speaking of praise…]" Pikachu interjected, chuckling, "[nice work, guys! I don't think I've had a workout like that in a _long_ time.]"

"[Jeez, right back at'cha,]" the monkey replied. "[You sure take your training seriously, y'know that? It's pretty impressive.]"

"[Heh, thanks!]"

"[I agree wholeheartedly,]" Piplup added. "[Of everyone I could declare an equal, you certainly come the closest. Even the legends would be impressed, I'm sure.]"

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, wow… that's something coming from you, Piplup. It almost makes me feel like a lugia, or a mew, or something, myself.]"

"[With skills like that, perhaps you're not far off the truth, friend!]"

Ambipom clicked her tongue. "[So sacrilegious! Imagine if Lord Mew himself could hear ya...]"

Piplup shrugged."[I doubt he would care much… And 'himself'? That thing looks _far_ too girly to contain any parts that belong to a male. From what I've witnessed in pictures of it, anyway.]"

"[W-What!?]" she exclaimed, looking somewhat offended.

"[Hey now, Piplup…]" Pikachu chided. "[Don't say that. You know how she feels about her… um, beliefs.]"

"[What? It's quite true!]" Piplup responded.

Pikachu sighed. Why did the guy have to be so eager to speak his mind?

Crossing her arms, Ambipom gave the penguin a sour look. "[And that, Piplup, is why you're set to meet many _special_ fire-types one day.]"

Piplup gasped and moved about flusteredly. "[I can't believe you, Ambipom! Did you just tell me that I'm going straight to _Hell?_ ]"

Some sweat went down the side of her head. "[H-Hey, I was just kidding. Don't have a cow.]"

"[That's a jerk-y thing to kid about…]" he retorted, sniffling.

"[Aww, Ambipom…]" Pikachu started, rubbing the penguin on the shoulder, "[you upset him so much, he stopped being all grand…]"

She sighed before smiling pleasantly. "[Yeah… sorry, Piplup. I'm sure Lord Mew will easily forgive ya for what you said. More than he'll forgive me for being a jerk to ya, anyway,]" she replied, gently patting him on the head with one of her tails' hands.

Piplup paused. After a short while, he smiled back and put his flippers to his hips. "[That is quite alright, my simian friend! And I am most sorry for my sassiness towards your favorite legendary.]"

Ambipom smiled. "[Don't sweat it, buddy.]"

Pikachu grinned, happy to see them getting along again. They often fell out with each other over little things, being as brash as they were, but their fights never lasted for too long.

"[Either way… eh,]" she continued, shrugging exaggeratedly. "[He's hardly anywhere near legendary level. He's good for a battler, sure… but if he tried bringing that to a contest, I can tell you now we wouldn't be getting a ribbon.]"

"[Well… in all honesty, I cannot argue that,]" Piplup replied. "[All substance and no show.]"

"[H-Hey, what's that supposed to mean?]" Pikachu said, exasperatedly slumping his shoulders. "[I surfed on a star, and everything…]"

"[But not while posing, or using your electrical prowess to create some sparkles, or something of that ilk.]"

"[Give the guy a medal! He gets it!]" Ambipom praised.

Pikachu groaned. "[You guys are freaking impossible, I swear…]"

"Alright, you guys!" Ash interrupted excitedly, moving closer. "Time to move over and let someone else train!"

The three pokémon nodded and made their way to the sidelines.

Once they reached a spot near some weird little tree, most likely the one from before, Pikachu began to smirk. "[Heh. Y'know, Ambipom… I think I won me that bet, didn't I?]"

Frowning worriedly, she sighed. "[… Okay, go on, then. What do ya want from me?]"

"[Well… I'm in a merciful mood, so… how about some ketchup, or something?]"

She looked relieved, though not without a raised eyebrow. "[The heck am I gonna get any of that stuff!? It doesn't just grow on trees.]"

His grin grew coy. "[Well… if it's easier on ya… you _could_ do the same thing you made _me_ do the last time I lost one of our bets. Would be some nice payback for all the blushing ya made me do…]"

Gasping, she defensively shook her paws and tails' hands. "[N-No, that's alright. Ketchup it is. Next time I see some, it's yours!]"

He beamed. "[Thanks!]"

Piplup chuckled and pat him on the back a few times. "[Cheeky as ever, my friend.]"

"[I have my moments, sometimes.]"

"[No kidding…]" Ambipom replied, grinning faintly and rolling her eyes. "[Ah well, I ain't complainin' either way. I enjoy these bets of ours. You certainly put your all into 'em.]"

"[Can you blame me after last time?]" he retorted, face warming slightly.

She laughed. "[I've gotta say, I'm pretty amazed you still do these with me after that.]"

"[Well… I enjoy 'em, too.]" He pumped an arm. "[Especially when I win!]"

Snorting in amusement, she pat him on the head with a tail hand. "[I'll frigging bet…]"

He chuckled at first, though he hissed in pain as she accidentally agitated a bruise.

Hearing that, she withdrew her hand. "[Ah! S-Sorry,]" she said, frowning worriedly.

"[S'alright…]" he replied, massaging his head. "[Just a real rough battle. Everywhere's a bit sore right now.]"

"[You think _you're_ in a sore state!?]" Piplup asked. "[Consider my poor struggles… being weak to electricity and having it forced through my veins twice. _Smashed_ into me the latter time.]"

"[Well, I guess…]" Pikachu replied, rubbing the back of his head, "[… but Volt Tackle hurts me, too, y'know. Why do you think I only ever use it at the end of a-]" He blinked. "[… Wait, only twice? I zapped ya more than that, didn't I?]"

"[Nope! Used Double Team and saved his butt,]" Ambipom explained. "[But yeah, hurts more to get hit _by_ it than it does to hit _with_ it.]"

"[Ah, well… guess you've got me there.]" He gave an apologetic look. "[Sorry, guys… Hope you're not hurting too much.]"

"[Don't look so sorry, man,]" she replied. "[It's a battle, remember? We're supposed to beat each other senseless.]"

"[Well, fair enough, I guess…]"

Piplup nodded. "[Absolutely! Besides, it is nothing a round of berries and rest cannot cure.]" He smirked lightly. "[… Hint, hint.]"

Pikachu chuckled. "[Alright, then. I'll quickly go and fetch us some to snack on.]"

"[Hey, thanks, man!]" Ambipom chimed.

"[Be quick, friend!]" Piplup added. "[I doubt our trainers will take long in deciding who to use for battle.]" He rubbed his stomach. "[… Also, I'm hungry.]"

"[Way ahead of ya!]" Pikachu said, already on his way towards some berry bushes in the distance.

For a second, however, he noticed something in the distance. Curious, he wandered closer, even as he went out of view of the others…

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 14/01 (January)/2017

 **Word count:** 6,045

 **Times the word 'bubble' was used:** 41

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Man, the last chapter got very little in the way of reviewing love. Was Buneary too forward for you guys, or something? XP

Anyways, I'll bet all of you are calling bs at the fact that Swift sometimes missed its mark in this battle, aint'cha? Well, blame the anime is all I can say! It's full of inconsistencies to the games, as I'm sure you're all aware. "Finish it off with False Swipe!" and all that…

Also, fun fact! Swift's name is Speed Star in Japan. Cool, huh? Yea.

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: 'Our** your butts ready to get kicked?'

(Their butts have fused! And they did so just to get kicked!)

 **#2:** "Ambipom, **used** Double Team to blah blah blah," Dawn called out

(Dawn thinks she's Brock, now. Explaining obvious things to the audience. I bet he'll get annoyed that she's taken his job!)

 **#3:** With some charging, Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt towards Piplup, which struck him **dead** on target.

(I thought I was being clever with my wording, but not quite. Instead, Pikachu instantly killed his best friend. Oopsie!)

 **#4: '** Piplup responded with some surprisingly fancy footwork, staying on top of her back while she break danced.'

(How the heck would Piplup stay on top of her back while she's breaking danced? This was not thought out well.)

 **#5: '** Dawn was commanding her pokémon to do something else, though **Pikachu was** **too high** to make out what was being said.'

(Perhaps it was a bad idea to smoke his dank weed before the fight… That said, maybe he inhaled too much laughing gas, like in a certain other fic. Who knows!)

 **#6: '** Buizel praised, both paws wrapped around his.'

(It's getting awfully shippy in here. PikaBui confirmed for canon!)

 **#7:** 'He was patting both of his cheeks and then pointing towards Piplup's bubbles with the other.'

(The way I worded things makes it seem like Ash is mooning Piplup's bubbles. What a rude dude with a lot of 'tude.)

 **#8:** "And that's it!" Brock called out, holding an arm up. "Pikachu **winds!** "

(Reminds me of those flatulence-obsessed fics that keep getting spammed in the Smash Brothers section.)

 **#9:** Ambipom clicked her tongue. "[Well, you **well** good.]"

(Ambipom turned Cockney. Innit, mate!)

 **#10:** "Alright, you guys!" Ash piped in excitedly, **coming** moving closer.

(Oh dear. Ash got a little too excited during training…)

 **#11:** 'Inside that was a single bubble, which spun around the water **cortex.** '

(Apparently, the main villain of the Crash Bandicoot games became a water-type for his brief cameo in the fic.)

Welp, thanks for reading, you guys! Feel free to drop me a review, if ya like! It's motivating, it is. :P Either way, tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Berries?_


	3. The Mouse That Was Late

**Chapter 3:** _The Mouse That Was Late_

* * *

Performing some stretches alongside her partner, Pachirisu, Buneary eyed up her opponents, Gliscor and Staraptor. She had to admit, she was much happier to be facing off against them than Grotle, like Ash had been tempted to use, earlier. The tortoise was a cool guy, but that Rock Climb he'd learned the other day looked painful as all Hell, so screw that noise! That said, Staraptor _had_ gotten Close Combat earlier in the week, so… hmm… Never mind, she wanted Grotle to fight, after all, she decided.

… No way, she had to have more faith in herself than this! She could easily beat that Close Combat. For Dawn's sake. And, more importantly, because Pikachu was watching! … And, even more importantly, she didn't want to lose the bet she'd made with Ambipom earlier today. That woman's bets were not to be trifled with, unless you wanted to be embarrassed for life… and that was coming from someone who didn't embarrass easily.

She mentally prepared herself for what she would say for her pre-fight trash talking with her opponents. Ash and Dawn, however, seemed more interested in standing around and debating whether or not they should use items. All while Brock watched. Dawn seemed to be trying _extra_ hard today to convince Ash to try an item or two, despite how utterly fruitless her attempts were going to be. As a result, it looked like Buneary's tough talk had to wait a while. A pity, because she had some good stuff in mind.

Still, she didn't mind too much. It meant she could wink at Pikachu some more! She glanced around at the spectators, keeping a sharp eye out for her favorite hunk.

She kept it up for half a minute before realizing that something was wrong. Not a single flash of her favorite shade of yellow had crossed her vision.

Her unrolled ear dipped slightly. Was he not going to watch? Dang…

Exhaling, she perked up again. Oh well. Maybe he was taking a toilet break, or something. She hoped he didn't take too long, though. Looking at that frown on Dawn's face, it was clear she was on the verge of giving up. Again.

Her opponents were talking amongst themselves and Pachirisu was running around in a circle out of excitement. So she decided to daydream to herself about the amazing show of skill she'd watched mere minutes ago. Good lord… how was nobody else freaking out about how outstandingly _cool_ he'd been!? She could swear she'd creamed herself about eighty times while watching. At _least._

She still remembered it vividly. The way he'd weaved in-between all of those stars as if dancing with danger… the way he'd smacked that giant bubble away into the unknown, causing the anguished screams of Team Rocket to ring out along with an explosion… the way he'd rushed through that golden tunnel of stars, defying physics as if he had the powers of Palkia himself. Not to mention him ending things in a glorious display of partnership with Ash, bringing upon one hell of an explosive finish… Yes, needless to say, she had been wetter than Piplup after a long swim.

She'd be sure to praise him endlessly the next time she got a moment alone with him. Anything to make him feel as special as he was to her…

She suddenly felt someone pat her on the arm, bringing her back to reality. Looking over, she saw Pachirisu, who'd stopped running around to nervously nibble on his tail.

"[Hey, Buneary?]" he asked.

She frowned slightly in concern. "[Hey, what's wrong, sweetie?]" she asked. "[You were bouncing up and down a little while back.]"

He quickly glanced at the opposition and then back at her again.

"[Ahh, I get it,]" she continued. She gave him a comforting look. "[Aww, getting antsy?]"

He nodded. "[Y-Yeah… I just thought about how tough they are, and I'm not very good at fighting tough pokémon, yet…]"

She wrapped an arm around him. "[That's total nonsense. You beat up that gabite the other day, remember?]"

He pouted. "[She was a big meanie, though, so I was real mad at her…]" He sighed. "[Anyway, I didn't beat her, really. I winned because time ran out…]"

She couldn't hold back a giggle. "[Yeah, well… I think you _won_ fair and square. You would've gotten her, eventually.]"

He smiled softly for a short while before going back to nibbling on the spikes of his tail. "[I dunno…]"

She gave him a few pats on the back. "[Y'know what? If it makes you feel better, you're not the only nervous one.]"

He looked up at her curiously. "[I'm not…?]"

"[Nope! I'll bet you Gliscor's just as scared as you are. After all, you know what he's like.]"

He stopped nibbling as much to look up at the scorpion in question. He was currently talking to Staraptor, with a somewhat worried expression on his face. "[True…]" Pachirisu replied, looking back at her.

"[And did you see Staraptor eyeing you up cautiously, earlier? He's _totally_ scared you'll zap him something fierce.]"

A smile grew on the squirrel's face. "[Yeah! I guess so…]" He tilted his head. "[How about you? Are you scared?]"

Staraptor's Close Combat flashed across her memory. She forced her smile to stay in place, however. "[Naww, I'm good~]"

Pachirisu's look of uncertainty returned.

Seeing it, she sighed lightly. "[Alright… y'know what? Maybe just a little. Not as nervous as when that weird phione started hitting on me last week, but still.]"

He giggled. "[I remember that! He surprised me, so I runned- r-ran. I ran all the way across the beach and behind a tree.]"

Chuckling, she nodded. "[Wish I could've joined ya. But hey, I think I'm glad I stayed.]"

His head tilted again. "[You are? But why?]"

"[Well, sometimes, you need to face your fears to become the best pokémon you can be. Even if that means being in some situation which makes you nervous.]"

He looked intrigued. "[Really?]"

"[Yup! Besides, ya never know… it might not be all that bad. Like… Phione. If I'd run away, I'd have never known he was a decent guy. Even if he _was_ incredibly hor- U-Um… keen. For a date. Yeah.]"

He giggled for a short while before looking contemplative. "[I… I guess you're right. I need to be more braver.]"

She smiled. "[And you _will_ be more brave! I believe in you, kiddo!]" She gave him a few more pats before moving away. "[And if you ever feel like you need an extra boost of bravery to get you by, we'll all be here for ya.]"

His eyes widened in awe. "[All of you?]"

"[Yup! Me, Pikachu, Dawn… all of us!]"

Beaming, he hopped up and down. "[Hee~! Okay, then! Yeah, I feel like I have lots of bravery already!]"

She beamed just as widely. "[Awesome! Well, let's use that burst of bravery to do some _butt kicking!_ ]" she rallied, raising her paw and smirking confidently.

"[Yeah!]" he replied, doing an excited back flip.

As if on cue, a loud sigh could be heard. The sigh that signified Dawn finally giving up on her argument. It was time!

While their trainers got into position, Buneary and Pachirisu followed suit, alongside their opponents.

Once they all took on fighting stances, Gliscor began to speak. "[Hope you're ready for us to beat'cha! Kyee hee!]" he taunted, winking and sticking his tongue out.

"[Yup!]" Staraptor joined in, standing next to him. "[Even with our ice weaknesses, we'll win, easy!]"

The scorpion blinked. He blinked again. With another blink, tears began to well up in his eyes. "[Oh, dear lord, I forgot about her horrible ice attack! Oh _nooooo!_ ]"

Looking exasperated, Staraptor pat him on the back with a wing. "[C'mon, man, you're not looking very tough right now…]"

"[But four times the pain…!]" the scorpion replied, tears streaming down his face.

Ignoring the temptation to point out that he had a weakness to water, like the stuff pouring down his face currently, Buneary smiled exasperatedly. "[Hey… don't worry, alright? Just for you, I won't use it at full power,]" she reassured.

"[… Really?]" he asked, his tears drying.

She nodded. "[Yeah. Rabbit's honor.]"

He blinked. Grinning, he then put his pincers to his hips. "[Well, then yeah! We'll beat'cha for sure! Kyee hee hee!]"

Sighing in amusement, she grinned back. "[You wish! We'll crush you so bad, Ash might start begging _us_ to join his team!]"

"[In your dreams…]" Staraptor snarked in amusement.

Smirking, she winked at him. "[Yup! As long as a certain someone's in 'em, they're my favorite ones to have!]"

A short laugh escaped Staraptor's beak, making her smirk grow.

They began to turn towards Pachirisu, eager to hear his. However, the humans started talking, catching their attention.

"So, um… should we start, Ash?" Dawn asked, scratching her beanie.

"C'mon, Dawn," Ash started before pumping a fist. "You know they've gotta do their battle speeches, first! It's what pumps 'em up for an _awesome_ battle!"

"Huh… but you interrupted Pikachu while he was doing _his,_ didn't ya?"

Ash blinked. "… Haha, um… whoops." He looked sheepish. "He's always telling me to cut that out. Guess I've still got things to learn, huh?"

Dawn put her hands to her hips. "Like using items, Ash Ketchum?"

He and Brock, who was still nearby, sighed.

"Oh no… not _this_ again!" Brock said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, c'mon, Dawn…" Ash added.

They continued to banter, so Buneary and the others just shrugged them off, going back to eagerly watching Pachirisu for his turn. When everyone's eyes were on him, she noticed that some sweat was beginning to pool on the squirrel's head.

"[U-Um… er…]" he started, quickly looking off to the side. Noticing his gaze meeting hers, Buneary gave him a big, pleasant smile. With a blink, the squirrel broke his gaze away to stare at the ground, as if thinking something. Nodding with a determined frown, he smirked up at the opposition. "[We're gonna win, because I'm gonna fry you up like today's sausages!]" he remarked, letting his cheeks spark for effect.

Shock spread across Staraptor and Gliscor's faces, as if they hadn't expected such a comeback from the kid. Buneary, however, chuckled lightly. She had to admit, though, she was quite impressed, not to mention proud. Even Pikachu himself would have been intimidated by that! Heh, well, not really, but it was a good start, either way.

Before she could congratulate Pachirisu, Brock called out for the match to start. Quickly after, Ash gave out a couple of commands to his pokémon. Dawn followed suit, asking Buneary and Pachirisu to dodge and use some moves of their own.

Bouncing high into the air to barely dodge Staraptor swooping in with Brave Bird, Buneary suddenly remembered something important. Looking down at the crowd, she kept an eye out for her favorite mouse.

With several seconds' worth of searching while her upwards momentum came to a stop, she frowned lightly. _Still_ no sign of him. So strange… it was really unlike him to skip any of his friends' battles. Plus… well, it was extra off-putting that he'd chosen _hers_ to miss out on, of all fights.

Flipping sideways to dodge a Steel Wing attack from Gliscor, who'd flown upwards to intercept her, Buneary sighed inwardly. Oh, well… it wasn't like she needed Pikachu to watch, or anything. Still, she wouldn't have complained at all to have him cheering her on.

Twisting herself around and firing an Ice Beam at Gliscor on Dawn's command - albeit a slightly weaker one than usual, which Dawn thankfully didn't notice - the bunny mentally shrugged. Oh well. It gave her an excuse to go on the flirting offense later on!

* * *

"[Man, where even is he?]" Ambipom asked aloud, sitting on top of Mamoswine's back.

"[Who, pray tell?]" Piplup asked, sitting next to her.

"[Our little berry gatherer, o' course. He's been gone ages, hasn't he?]"

"[Oh. Yes, 'tis a good point, come to think of it. Where is he?]"

"[Hm. Beats me,]" Buizel responded from the monkey's other side.

"[Dead,]" Mamoswine replied dryly.

Buizel and Piplup actually sniggered at that while Ambipom groaned exasperatedly.

"[You're a natural-born comedian, Mamoswine,]" she said sassily.

The mammoth huffed. "[I try.]"

Buizel's chuckles quietened down. "[Alright, but seriously, you've got a point. He only went to get us berries, right?]"

"[Could've fooled me,]" Ambipom replied. "[He'll miss the start of the battle if he's gone any longer. And you _know_ Buneary won't like that.]"

"[You got that right.]"

"[Perhaps…]" Piplup started, "[we should go and find out for ourselves what happened to the man?]"

"[Better not,]" Buizel replied. "[I don't wanna miss the action. Besides, I'd rather not walk in on him taking a crap, or something.]"

"[Delightful imagery, thank you,]" Piplup mumbled.

"[Heh. Just saying it how it is.]"

Ambipom sniggered. "[If so, then whatever. Can't be more embarrassing than what I made him do for our last bet together.]"

Buizel coughed slightly, as if vaguely flustered. "[When you put it _that_ way…]"

"[Here, look, I'll go after him,]" she replied. There were rustling noises, as if she were getting up. "[Whatever he's up to, I'll find out, lickity split.]" She jumped off Mamoswine's back. Upon landing, she suddenly looked very surprised. "[Oh… hey, I found him!]"

Chuckling, Pikachu stopped leaning against the odd small tree behind the mammoth. "[Hey! Missing me, much?]" he asked, walking past his bag of berries on the floor.

"[You freaking bet! Where were you?]"

"[Indeed!]" Piplup added, peering over the edge of Mamoswine's backside. "[Surely, one doesn't need the same amount of time to pick berries… as it takes for Dawn to give up on asking for the use of items.]"

Pausing for a second to wrap his head around what the penguin meant, Pikachu shrugged. "[Well, that's the thing. I went to go get some, but then I noticed _this_ blowing away.]" He held up the folded piece of paper in his paw, allowing Ambipom to take it. "[… Plus, you guys were totally talking about me while I was gone, so… mayyybe I got a little curious,]" he continued, smirking.

Holding the piece of paper, Ambipom chuckled and rolled her eyes. "[Who knew you were so nosy?]" She looked down at the paper. "[Alright, what've you given me, then?]"

"[Well-]"

"[Hey, it's great you're back and all…]" Buizel called out from where he was seated, "[but hurry up and get up here. They've started fighting, already!]"

Surprised, Piplup quickly turned around, disappearing from view. "[Oh legends, he's right! Buneary's already taken to the air!]" he called out.

Pikachu yelped. "[O-Okay, I'll tell you, later. First, help me get these onto Mamoswine's back, please, won'tcha?]" he said, pointing towards the berries.

"[Oh, yeah, sure,]" Ambipom responded, picking up the bag with one of her tails' hands. Giving his paper back to him, she giggled. "[Anything to let you be a lazy butt.]"

Grinning, Pikachu groaned lightly. "[Hey, if you were as small as me, you wouldn't exactly wanna carry it, either.]"

"[Heh, a good point… but yeah, you're still lazy,]" she replied, clambering up Mamoswine.

Rolling his eyes, Pikachu tucked the paper behind his ear. Once it was in place, he joined her, clinging onto Mamoswine's fur and pulling himself up.

"[Oh goody, more weight,]" the mammoth mumbled dryly.

"[You know you don't really care, so don't complain, you,]" the monkey retorted, getting into position on top of him.

Amused, Pikachu soon climbed to the top of Mamoswine, too. The first thing he noticed were his friends, Piplup, Ambipom and Buizel, sitting while hungrily chowing down on the contents of the bag. While eating, they were watching the battle in front of them, which seemed pretty intense.

Running over, he sat next to Piplup. "[Did I miss anything?]" he asked.

"[Pachirisu just clipped Staraptor with some electricity,]" Buizel replied before biting into a berry.

"[It wasn't enough to ground him, though, alas,]" Piplup replied. "[Perhaps if Pachirisu had the strength of Zhordos, my favorite superhero, things might've taken a different turn.]"

"[Heh, okay, cool,]" Pikachu replied, now watching the raging battle. Zhordos, huh? The electrical superhero who loved to talk grandly? Sure explained a lot.

Speaking of electricity… in the battle, many large bolts of blue lightning were shooting out from the middle of the arena. Some of them smacked Gliscor with little damage, thanks to the scorpion's typing. "[Good lord, it's not gonna take long for him to get that strong, though, from the looks of things,]" Pikachu continued.

"[Little tyke's a tough little bastard,]" Buizel commented. "[Next to you, he's the strongest electric-type I know.]"

"[Give it a year and I'll bet he'll even kick your butt, Pikachu,]" Ambipom quipped.

"[Heh, it'll be fun to see him try!]" Pikachu replied, smirking. He snapped his fingers as something occurred to him. "[Hey, I just remembered… Buizel, I never told you, did I?]"

The weasel leaned backwards. "[Depends. What's up?]"

Pikachu leaned back as well, seeing Buizel's face from behind his other friends. "[The battle we fought in earlier. You did frigging awesome, so great job!]" he said, smiling.

Buizel smirked. "[Oh. Heh, thanks. You too.]" His smirk dropped slightly. "[Still disappointed I got knocked out, though. Won't lie…]"

Piplup gave a proud huff. "[With our powers combined, how could you _not_ get knocked out? Ambipom and I are a dream team not seen for centuries!]" he boasted.

Grinning, the monkey rubbed him on the head with a paw. "[Right on, bro!]"

Buizel clicked his tongue. "[A dream team of nuisances, more like.]"

"[Hah! The levels of salt run high, it seems,]" Piplup retorted.

Buizel rolled his eyes. "[Hmph.]"

"[Gotta give you credit for something, though,]" Ambipom started. "[I've _never_ seen anybody do so good with their tails before. And that's coming from the girl with two arms coming out her butt.]"

"[Haha, yeah. How'd you even _do_ that?]" Pikachu asked.

A proud look grew on Buizel's face. "[Well… can't lie. I learned a lot, being a contest pokémon,]" he said, sitting up again.

"[And _that_ is why us three friends are the _most_ stylish of pokémon!]" Piplup chimed. "[… Oh, and Mamoswine, of course!]"

"[Huh? Didn't hear that, but I disagree with whatever you said,]" Mamoswine snarked dryly.

Piplup pulled an exasperated face. "[… Point still stands, we friends are stylish.]"

Pikachu sat up. "[And me, too, right?]"

Piplup pondered that for a second before shrugging. "[Eh. No.]"

"[All 'do', no 'show',]" Ambipom interjected, also shrugging.

Buizel snorted. "[They've got a point. Your moveset isn't made for contests.]"

Slouching, Pikachu groaned. "[… Thanks for the input, you guys…]" he mumbled with a roll of his eyes, refocusing his attention back on the battle.

After some amused responses, the rest of the gang quietened down to focus on watching the rest of the battle unfold. Thankfully, it hadn't gone too far underway, yet. Currently, Gliscor and Staraptor were attempting to flank Buneary and Pachirisu from the sky. Staraptor was dive-bombing them with Brave Bird, and Gliscor was trying to smash into them with a combination of Steel Wing and X-Scissor.

Pachirisu constantly avoided them by running around at impressive speeds. Buneary hopped over every attempt at knocking her down, jumping in sync to Pachirisu's sprint.

Quickly spinning in mid-air, the rabbit fired a burst of Ice Beam at Gliscor, hitting him dead in the face. On Ash's command, the scorpion's mouth glowed red, warding away the attack with Fire Fang. Hearing Ash's next instruction, he dropped to the ground and drew back his claws. Grabbing some large clumps of soil, he threw them in Buneary's direction, smacking her in the face. Yelping, she stopped to cover her eyes.

Pikachu gasped when he saw Staraptor advancing on her, readying a vicious Close Combat on Ash's command. A heart slammed into the bird's face before he could do it, however, sending him reeling in a random direction in a stupor.

Congratulating Pachirisu on a job well done - something that made the squirrel beam with pride - Dawn shouted an instruction for Buneary. Although she still seemed unable to see, the rabbit fired off her Ice Beam straight forwards, scoring a direct hit on Staraptor and freezing him solid. His block of ice fell to the ground with a _thud._

Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief. His ear pricked when he heard snickering. Looking to his side, he saw Ambipom and Piplup chuckling lightly.

"[Oh, if only Buneary could hear your worry for her,]" Piplup teased, "[I swear on my life, the philandering would never end.]"

Pikachu blushed. "[Y-Yeah, well… y'know. Action's heating up, ain't it?]"

"[Ain't the only thing heating up, eh?]" Ambipom added cheekily, tapping him on the head with her tail's hand. He could only groan lightly in response.

Chuckling harder, Piplup playfully nudged her in the side. "[Oh, you're so lewd for someone so holy, you know that?]"

She winked at him. "[Lord Mew won't mind the odd little tasteless joke, I'm sure.]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes amusedly. "[Well, that'll make one of us, then, won't it?]" He paused briefly as Buneary barely jumped over Gliscor's Steel Wing. Once she was a safe distance away, thanks to Bouncing off the scorpion's head, he continued. "[Anyway, yeah, I'm rooting for her, sue me.]"

Buizel clicked his tongue. "[Traitor,]" he muttered.

Pikachu blinked. A second later, he waved his paws defensively. "[H-Hey, I'm rooting for the other team, too, don't worry.]"

Buizel snorted. "['The other team', huh?]"

Pikachu blinked again. "[… Um. _Our_ team. Anyway, you're one to talk, you were _just_ praising Pachirisu!]"

"[Right, but at least I _was_ on his team at some point. Where's your excuse?]"

"[He has you there, turncoat…!]" Piplup chimed.

Pikachu huffed exasperatedly. "[Now how can I win with two against one?]"

"[The same way Gliscor's gonna do it,]" Buizel retorted, sounding smug, "[just you watch.]"

"[Heh, we'll see about that,]" Pikachu shot back, smirking.

"[Ooh, sounds like the perfect time to start a bet to me!]" Ambipom started up excitedly. "[Who's interes-]"

"[Pass,]" Buizel and Piplup both retorted.

She looked shocked. "[Oh, what? Not gonna let me finish?]"

"[After what you did to Pikachu last time, not in a million years,]" Buizel said, picking up another berry and biting down on it.

"[I'm afraid I must agree,]" Piplup replied. "[While I do love having all eyes on me… I'd rather that not be because I lost one of your bets.]"

She pouted. "[Hmph. Good to see I'm not the only mon with no balls, here.]"

Huffing amusedly at their exasperated reactions, Pikachu pondered things for a short while. Making another bet with her was a _reaaaaally_ bad idea, without a doubt…

… but screw it, he could _never_ turn down a challenge.

His attention wavered when he saw Buneary taking Gliscor's X-Scissor to the chest, which sent her flying backwards. He barely held back a gasp at the sight.

The scorpion was about to go in for another one, but had to back off when Pachirisu ran in, teeth extended. Tumbling back, Buneary landed on the floor with her ears. Springing them outwards, she soared backwards in a somersault before landing perfectly on her feet. While catching her breath, she caught Pikachu's eye and began to beam widely, almost as if gasping in surprise.

Smiling back at her, Pikachu gave her an encouraging wave. The bunny reacted with glee and a wink before eagerly getting back to business, hopping towards the others with glowing ears to join in the assault.

A spark of warmth went off in his chest, making him smile wider. After making sure things were stable again, Pikachu turned his grin towards Ambipom. "[So, are we still game for that bet?]" he asked.

She beamed at him, though a sudden look of horror fell over Piplup and Buizel. The latter of which was even leaning forwards to get a good look at him.

"[Whoo~! Never mind, we have an actual _man_ in the audience!]" Ambipom cheered.

"[Has your brain stopped working, my friend!?]" Piplup screeched. "[You barely escaped the last brush with embarrassment, and yet you're asking for _another_ bet!?]"

Pikachu pumped a fist. "[You bet! What're the rules this time?]"

Buizel's look of horror changed to an impressed smirk. "[Hah. You just never back down from anything, do ya?]"

"[Nope! I'd go for it, even if Mew-]" Jolting, he quickly glanced at Ambipom. "[… Um, _Lord_ Mew himself gave me a challenge.]"

Ambipom giggled. "[What're you walking on eggshells around me, for? You're gonna make me feel like my strict-ass parents, or something.]"

He rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, sorry.]"

"[S'alright. Anyway… how about the same thing I have going on with Buneary, herself? She loses, you lose, and if she wins, you win.]" She extended one of her tails' hands. "[Deal?]"

Taking hold of a finger tip, he shook it. "[Deal! Prepare to give me more than just ketchup!]"

She smirked evilly. "[We'll see!]"

"[Ohh, worry already fills me…]" Piplup said, looking appropriately fearful.

Buizel sighed in an amused way. "[I wonder if Buneary's nose is gonna bleed again, like the last time you lost a bet…]"

Pikachu's face warmed. "[… Probably.]" He fully turned his attention back to the battle. Buneary and Pachirisu were currently zipping back and forth in an evasive maneuver. Pachirisu ran on his two legs and Buneary hopped around sporadically. Gliscor was looking vastly overwhelmed, but he was following Ash's commands as best as he could. Staying in the air, and randomly swooping down to strike out whenever they were under him.

Eventually, Ash gave a strange order, causing Gliscor to look at the trainer as if he'd grown two heads. Recovering, the scorpion got into position on the ground, standing with his pincers spread out as if he was inviting them to hit him.

Accepting the free shot, Buneary fired off an Ice Beam towards him on Dawn's orders. Just as it was about to hit Gliscor, however… the scorpion twisted around on the spot when Ash gave the order, causing the Ice Beam to hit his now-glowing cape. Unexpectedly, the attack wildly ricocheted off, sending icy lasers in all sorts of different directions. One of them struck Pachirisu's side, sending him sprawling to the ground, partially coated in ice.

With barely enough time for her to guard, another one slammed into Buneary, sending her flying. It hadn't frozen her, but she crashed pretty harshly into the ground, and was sent rolling backwards. Eventually, she came to a stop when she smacked into the block of ice containing Staraptor. Landing on her front, the rabbit lay there, dazed.

Pikachu and his friends all flinched and groaned in sympathetic pain.

"[Oh no…]" Pikachu mumbled, frowning worriedly. His frown deepened when he saw the ice cracking, and Staraptor beginning to stir from within. "[Oh _no!_ ]" he said, jolting upright.

Buneary began to push herself upwards, though not in time to escape the ice exploding, knocking her to the floor again. After a victory cry from Ash, he gave the command for the worst possible thing to happen. Close Combat.

He looked to Pachirisu to see if he could help, but it was no use. The squirrel was too far away, still working on freeing himself from the ice. "[Oh… crap,]" Pikachu muttered.

Staraptor scooped Buneary up and flung her, squealing, into the air. Time almost seemed to slow to a crawl as she fell back down to earth, towards the waiting bird of prey below.

Pikachu's heart stopped dead in his chest. There was _no_ way she was going to get past this…

With a battle cry, Staraptor flew straight upwards. Twirling quickly, he sent a talon flying towards her. It slammed directly into her fluffy backside, cutting her screams short. He followed up with another twirl and a swipe of his wing. Smacking it into her side, he sent her flying away into the air.

Amongst Buizel's and, more worryingly, Ambipom's cheers, Pikachu inhaled sharply. Shit…

He sighed and began turning towards Ambipom, ready to concede defeat to her. However, he snapped to attention when he noticed Buneary tumbling back down from the sky, out of the corner of his eye…

… towards _him._

Squealing, Pikachu scrambled to get out of the way. He barely got to his feet before he was sent sprawling across Mamoswine's back. Groaning, he lay there with his eyes closed, willing his entire body to stop aching. After a short pause, he realized that the aching felt more like a weight was on top of him. Also, his entire face felt very itchy. What the…? Opening his eyes, he jolted slightly. His entire vision was obscured by a cloud of cream cotton.

He absentmindedly tried to move it out of his eyes. Pushing it upwards, the fluff pressed against something that felt strangely soft. A loud yelp rang out soon afterwards.

Catching on, he felt his face begin to warm significantly, and not just because of the warm fluff. Oh dear… he could only wonder what part of Buneary had landed on top of him… and whether she'd somehow engineered this to happen or not.

Recovering from the shock, Buneary chuckled through some pained pants. "[You should've… told me you were… ready for _that_ stage of our… relationship,]" she muttered teasingly.

Judging from the direction of her voice, and the fact he could feel a weight on his crotch… he guessed that the others were probably getting a very amusing show. Hearing their laughter once they realized what was happening all but confirmed it.

"[… Um… eheh, um… y-you wish,]" he stuttered. "[Er… mind getting your face out of my, um… my groin?]"

She wheezed out a giggle. "[Aww… but you're allowed to… put your handsome one into mine? No fair~]"

Despite how flushed his cheeks felt, he couldn't stop the grin on his face from forming. "[H-Har har…]"

Humming in amusement, she slowly slid off him. "[Alright, fine… maybe on our honeymoon, instead, huh?]" she said, winking at him. Notably, her face was just as red as his felt.

Pushing himself up into a seated position, he rolled his eyes. "[Yeah… we'll see about that.]" He faltered when he got a good look at her. She had a nasty bruise on her side, and she was barely holding herself up. "[Oh, wow… you okay?]"

She took a sharp breath and nodded confidently. "[Yeah… never better!]" She slowly turned to face the battlefield and began to walk towards it.

Jumping to his feet, Pikachu ran up to her and gently gripped her shoulder. When she turned to face him, he gave her a worried look. "[C'mon, don't push yourself. You know it won't end well if you go back down there like… _this,_ ]" he said, gesturing towards her battered body.

She shook her head. "[I can't just… leave lil' Pachirisu all on his own down there. So it's no good. I'm… I'm going for it.]"

He held his gaze with her for a short while before sighing. "[Well… if you're sure.]" He smiled. "[Stay safe, won't ya?]"

She smiled back. "[Yeah… I will.]" She giggled. "[Look at you, worrying so much about little ol' me, though~]" She winked flirtatiously. "[Does this mean I'm… getting close to a date?]"

He gave her an incredulous look before bursting into laughter. "[You're horribly injured and about to go straight back into the fray… and you're _still_ flirting with me?]"

She giggled again and nuzzled him on the nose with hers. "[Through rain and snow, lover boy~!]"

His chuckles continued. "[C-Clearly…]" His laughter grew a little sheepish when his mind clicked onto her nuzzling him. He felt his already warm face heat up further.

Before too long, she pulled away and faced the battlefield again. He tried not to let his mild disappointment show. "[Bye, everyone!]" she called out, allowing forceful gusts of wind to envelop both her feet with the use of Bounce. After a farewell from everyone, Pikachu included, she leapt into the air. The mouse couldn't see her land because of Mamoswine's head, but the loud squawk from Staraptor that soon followed gave him a good idea of how that'd gone.

Noticing Piplup, Ambipom, and Buizel giving him amused glances - the latter out of the corner of his eye - Pikachu sighed lightly. "[Er… what?]" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"[You two, I swear,]" Ambipom said, holding back her chuckles. "[It's so adorable, I might need some heart medicine, or something.]"

"[Thanks…]" Pikachu mumbled slightly sheepishly. He picked up his piece of paper - which had fallen onto Mamoswine's back because of the collision - and tucked it behind his ear again.

"[Methinks…]" Piplup started between his sniggering, "[the mouse doth protest his feelings too much.]" He gave the mouse a quick look over and sniggered harder. "[… Though perhaps certain parts of said mouse's anatomy disagree…!]"

Ambipom followed the penguin's gaze before pausing, eyes wide. She burst into laughter. "[Um… guess you enjoyed yourself, buddy, didn't ya?]"

Buizel also gave a quick glance. Groaning, he turned back to the battle. "[Arceus alive…]" he muttered, shaking his head.

Face warming, Pikachu faltered out of confusion. What…? His eyes slowly trailed down to wherever they'd been looking. Upon seeing the large yellow lump of fur bulging from lower down, he immediately stiffened, face burning. "[O-Oh! U-U-Um…]" he stuttered, bringing his tail out from behind him and holding it down low. Oh, jeez, how hadn't he noticed that!? "[… Ignore that.]"

"[How could we? It's a fair rival to the length of my beak!]" Piplup joked. "[It falls just short of putting _me_ to shame!]"

Pikachu's face warmed further. "[Ugh… w-why must?]"

With a drawn-out breath, Ambipom wiped a tear away. "[Heh… Bet you're glad us pokémon are always covered in fur, feathers and other stuff that keeps us decent, huh?]" she said. "[A gift from Lord Mew himself, for sure.]"

"[It is almost like the very technology our pokéballs use,]" Piplup added, "[except, of course, for our… special valuables.]"

"[Y-Yeah… and yeah again,]" Pikachu mumbled, facing away. "[Not… sure how it works… but whatever stops Buneary from seeing stuff she's only ever s-seen in her dreams. Eheh…]"

The two jokesters chuckled again.

"[The images I have of the stuff happening on my back…]" Mamoswine said dryly. "[I'm gonna need showers for weeks, aren't I?]"

Pikachu's grip on his tail tightened slightly. "[I-I didn't do anything, though!]"

"[Sure.]"

Having recovered from a startled jump that the mammoth's surprise comment had caused, Ambipom sighed exasperatedly. "[Yo, mind giving me a warning before you surprise the crud outta me?]"

The mammoth huffed. "[More fun this way.]"

Pikachu grumbled to himself. Damn that bunny… he was just lucky that she'd been doubly covered up, with her fluff and her fur, or else he dreaded to imagine what might've happened.

… Not that it was all _that_ bad of an image, admittedly...

Out of nowhere, he noticed some ice-covered hearts floating upwards towards the sky, like balloons. The second he saw them, he started. "[Oh, the fight!]" Dropping his tail, he quickly moved over to the others again and took his seat next to Piplup. Now able to see over Mamoswine's head, he got a glimpse of the action. Buneary and Pachirisu were shooting their Ice Beam and Sweet Kiss attacks towards each other, forming icy hearts that floated upwards in different directions.

The two fliers were keeping their distance high in the air, wondering what was going on. Staraptor accidentally brushed against one of the icy hearts, which exploded, coating the bird in a flurry of blue and pink sparkles. He squawked loudly and began to flap around wildly, obviously dazed and chilled to the bone. Seeing that, Gliscor began to freak out, tears streaming down his face.

The two flying-types calmed somewhat when Ash called out to them. Gaining their attention, he gave the immediate order for them to take evasive action, which they happily obeyed. Unfortunately for them, the skies were becoming much harder to navigate. The cold hearts littered the air like sea mines, and Buneary and Pachirisu just continued to form more, releasing many in the direction of the flying-types.

Pikachu tried to focus on them diving around the deadly hearts, but he kept getting distracted by Piplup's sniggers. When he turned to face him, he saw the penguin stealing glances at his… Oh. Right. He forgot to deal with that.

Blushing and grumbling, he put his hands on his crotch. Piplup only chuckled harder.

"[Friend, I think it would best benefit you to tend to that,]" he said, grinning cheekily.

"[H-How?]" Pikachu responded. "[I'm not going to… um…]" His face heated further, "[… y'know. _That,_ while watching battles.]"

"[Haha, not necessary! Here.]" He held his flippers in front of his beak and began to form a bubble from it. When it was about half his size, he took hold of it and offered it to the mouse. "[Here. An _amazing_ substitute for a cold shower!]"

Sighing, Pikachu took it and held it to his belly. It felt cool to the touch, especially against his little… problem, so it was something. "[Thanks, Piplup…]"

"[Not a problem!]"

Exhaling, Pikachu leaned against it. It was surprisingly comfortable, just like having a pillow. It was transparent, which was slightly worrying, but there was certainly enough action going on to distract everyone.

He went back to focusing on the aerial gymnastics show the two flying-types were putting on. They swerved and dived around the many ice hearts in such a graceful manner, almost like something you would see in an air show. It was a sight for the eyes.

Just as Gliscor used Fire Fang to ward away one that had appeared right in front of him, Pikachu heard a surprised cry from behind Mamoswine. Curious, he angled his unoccupied ear towards it.

"[Um, h-hi! Hello!]" the pokémon hidden behind Mamoswine started. It sounded like his friend, Sudowoodo. "[You're… um… I don't think I've seen you around here before! Hahaha! So… h-how're you?]"

Pikachu tilted his head. Had a wild pokémon shown up to watch the battle, or something? Well, either way, at least Sudowoodo was enjoying himself with his new friend. Or, judging by how amazingly awkward he was acting, his new crush. Pikachu hadn't known him to be much of a flirter, unlike his trainer, Brock, so the girl must've been real special.

He would've continued to listen in, but a sudden order from Ash caught his attention. He was calling to the two flying-types, asking them to go lower, below all of the icy chaos around them. They complied, though Dawn countered with her own instruction. Hearing it, her two pokémon stopped producing icy hearts and instead clung to each other. After a pause, Buneary leapt high into the air with wind-coated feet, carrying Pachirisu with her. Once high above the storm of frosted hearts, Pachirisu leapt from her arms and used Discharge, keeping him in place as Buneary quickly fell back down. His dozens of blue lightning bolts all struck different hearts, before spreading to the surrounding hearts, connecting them all like a giant, electrical web. Unsurprisingly, the hearts eventually exploded, releasing a flurry of blue and pink dust. It rained down onto the flying-types below, almost like snowflakes.

As expected, Gliscor began to freak out, until the freezing cold spray of heart matter poured onto him. He cried out and began flying erratically, as if in a daze. Moments later, he went careening towards the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as he crashed violently. He lay there with his tongue sticking out, looking unconscious.

Pikachu and Piplup cheered at the scorpion's defeat. Ambipom almost joined in, but she caught herself and frowned worriedly, most likely realizing that this didn't bode well for her bet. Buizel simply clicked his tongue, looking disappointed.

Pikachu stopped cheering when he noticed that Staraptor wasn't going down so easily. The bird had screeched at the attack hitting him, but he stood his ground, flying in place and resisting the cold spray. On Ash's command, he flew straight upwards, slicing through the attack to go into the safety of the now-clear skies. Once he was out of harm's way, he set his sights on Pachirisu, who had just stopped his Discharge and begun to fall back down. Like a hawk, Staraptor swooped down towards the squirrel, who squeaked loudly in response.

Pikachu gasped, along with Piplup and Ambipom. Oh, that poor kid…

Staraptor closed in on Pachirisu and, on Ash's order, got ready to slam a talon down on the squirrel. He was inches above his head before Pachirisu was pushed out of the way, only to be replaced with Buneary. The talon slammed down onto her face, sending her sailing down to the field below, where she met a similar fate to Gliscor. Inside a small crater, dazed.

The bubble under Pikachu's paws popped loudly as he squeezed it too hard. He barely registered the stinging sensation it had left behind. No! _What!?_ Dawn hadn't even commanded her to do that, so why had she taken his place!?

Piplup and Buizel both made sounds of surprise. Ambipom's happy chimes, however, were what sent Pikachu's blood draining from his face. Oh no… this meant that Ambipom had won the freaking bet. _Shiiiiiit!_

"[Looks like I'm taking home the gold and glory this time, mousey boy!]" Ambipom said triumphantly.

"[Oh goody…]" Pikachu sighed. Drat. That didn't bode well for the future.

"[Rest in peace,]" Mamoswine added dryly.

Sighing, Pikachu focused back on the battle. He saw Pachirisu - still falling through the air - striking back with a Discharge, which Dawn hadn't ordered. It struck Staraptor, violently knocking him to the ground, unconscious. From there, Pachirisu took Dawn's order to wrap himself up in his tail and use Sweet Kiss to surround himself in a heart. When he hit the ground, the heart absorbed the impact and burst, cushioning his fall. Now on his feet, he beamed brightly upon realizing that he'd won. He beamed even brighter as everyone cheered for him, including Dawn.

Amongst Piplup and Ambipom's cheers, and Buizel's disappointed groan, Pikachu smiled lightly. Well, if nothing, Buneary's sacrifice had allowed the little tyke to carry on and win the fight. It had meant that the mouse was due for something horrible, but… seeing the little squirrel so happy about his victory made it feel worthwhile, somehow. He made a mental note to praise Buneary for being so selfless, later. Once she recovered, and he was done with whatever Ambipom had in store for him, anyway.

Seeing the monkey turn to face him, grin widening, he gulped. Speaking of which...

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 18/08 (August)/2017

 **Word count:** 7,137

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Man, it's been a while, huh? Guess you could even say that the chapter… was late! Fufufu! xd

Ah well, hope you liked the chapter, all the same! Oh, by the by, are you wondering about Buneary's weird windy Bounce? That's actually an idea I had for Game-Changer, but I liked it so much that I decided to put it in here, too. May as well, right?

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** As everyone's eyes went **on** him,'

(Everyone threw their eyes at Pachirisu, which stuck to him. That's some Binding of Isaac-tier shiz right there!)

 **#2: '** She look turned into a concerned one.'

(Sounds painful.)

 **#3:** 'letting his cheeks **sparkle** for effects.'

(Fabulous as that sounds, who is he think he is? Edward Cullen?)

 **#4:** 'Bouncing high into the air to barely dodge Staraptor's Brave Bird-powered tackle Brave Bird '

(Brave bird is apparently powered by, get this… Brave Bird. Either that, or his dong's powered by Brave bird and, with bad grammar, I'm congratulating his bravery. You decide.)

 **#5:** "[Man, where even is he?]" Ambipom asked aloud, sitting on top of Mamoswine.

(Didn't specify _where_ on Mamoswine she was. Oh dear. Kinky new shipping away!)

 **#6:** 'towards the waiting bird of **pray** below.'

(Staraptor becomes a man of God!)

 **#7:** 'Smirking evilly, Staraptor swung at her with a wing **as she came .** '

(What a rude thing to do to someone who was simply thinking of Pikachu too much…)

 **#8:** 'She took a sharp breath and nodded **confidentially.** '

(Nobody must know about her nodding…)

 **#9:** 'Unsurprisingly, the hearts eventually gave out,'

(It makes it sound like everyone involved had a frigging heart attack.)

 **#10:** 'where she met a similar **end** to Gliscor.'

(Buneary died, confirmed for canon.)

 **#11:** 'where she met a similar fate to Gliscor. Inside a small **creator** '

(I didn't know Pikachu created stuff. Honhonhon! Also, having the words 'fate' and 'Gliscor' in the same sentence will forever remind me of PokeMaster64 and his fic, Sealed Fate.)

Alrighty, with that out the way, 'tis time for me to get some more reviews done. Maybe. I'm falling behind on **'Miracles'** and **'Pikachu & Buneary's Unspoken Love'** (which are both in my favourites list, wink wink nudge nudge), so I'd better get writing soon… XP

Ah well, either way… tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Bet!_


	4. The Bet That Was Revealing

**Chapter 4:** _The Bet That Was Revealing_

* * *

Pikachu gently applied a wet cloth to the bruise on Buneary's face. An easy task, considering she was laying on the grass in front of him, unconscious… but he wanted to be careful, all the same. She could've just gone into her pokéball, but Dawn had been quick to ask if Pikachu wanted to look after her, instead. He'd found it odd at first… but then he'd seen Dawn giving him that adoring look she always had on her face, whenever he was close to Buneary. After that, everything had made sense. That sly devil.

Happy that the wet cloth was in place, he sighed to himself and sat down next to her, leaning against a small, nearby tree. He still couldn't believe she'd done that, just for Pachirisu's sake. Dawn hadn't even ordered her to do it, as far as he knew. Normally, the rabbit would go out of her way to look as impressive as possible, so to let that go just for the little squirrel's sake…

He smiled softly. There was a reason the kid looked up to her, he supposed. A good reason, indeed.

His smile faded away as he recalled the bet looming over him. Ugh, dang it all. While he was glad that Buneary had chosen to be a saint, he just wished that it didn't have to involve him losing to Ambipom, too. The monkey hadn't told him what it was he had to do, yet, but he could only imagine, knowing her. He still remembered one time when she'd made him sing loudly during lunch, or the time she'd made him do a wink and a pose after every action during training. Or… the horrible incident from the last time he'd lost a bet…

Shivering slightly, he took a deep breath and looked to the side. He saw Ash and Dawn training with Grotle and Mamoswine, respectively. This time in a singles match, due to Dawn only having five pokémon to fight with. As his eyes met Ash's, he gave his trainer a thumbs up, which was happily returned.

Smirking happily, he glanced around some more. He noticed Buizel watching the battle intently, and Ambipom talking to Staraptor and Gliscor, who had recently recovered from their beatdown. If the mouse had to guess, she was probably congratulating them on beating Buneary, for obvious reasons.

Slowly shaking his head, and then pushing the paper he'd tucked behind his ear back in place, Pikachu turned back to Buneary. Noticing someone to his side, he jumped and turned his head towards them. Seeing that it was Pachirisu and Happiny, he exhaled slowly and smiled. "[Oh, er… hey, kids!]" he said.

"[Hello~!]" Happiny responded.

"[Hey…]" Pachirisu replied, nibbling on his tail.

Pikachu eyed him up worriedly. "[Hey, what's wrong, Pachirisu?]" he asked.

"[She'll… be alright, won't she?]" the squirrel asked.

Pikachu smiled reassuringly. "[Yeah, of course! She's been through way worse before, and lived to tell the tale.]"

Pachirisu stopped nibbling as much. "[Really?]"

"[You bet! This bunny's made of some tough stuff.]"

"[Ya! So stop the worry, Pachirisu!]" Happiny added. "[She'll be all good and stuff when her boyfriend is done looking after her, and… stuffs.]"

"[Ooh, I hope so…]" Pachirisu replied. "[I didn't want Buneary to get hurt because of me…]"

Playfully rolling his eyes at the pink egg's 'boyfriend' comment, Pikachu shook his head. "[It's not your fault, kiddo. You didn't ask her to do anything.]"

"[Ya ya!]" Happiny agreed. "[She didded it all by herself. Right?]"

Pikachu nodded. "[Right!]"

Pachirisu smiled softly, though he went back to nibbling on his tail.

Grinning gently, Pikachu stood up. "[Hey, kids, wanna see something cool?]"

They looked up at him curiously.

"[Wazzat?]" Happiny asked.

Pikachu puffed out his cheeks and folded his ears, to make them look spikier. After that, he puffed out his tail to make it look more squirrel-like. "[Um, ta-dah! Chipa!]" he chimed.

The kids laughed at his silly display.

"[Teehee, it's yellow me!]" Pachirisu said in amusement.

"[Yup! And that's not all…]" Pikachu replied with a chuckle, letting his body go back to normal. Sitting down, he puffed out his body as much as possible, trying to make himself look like a small egg. After that, he twisted one ear against his head and let the other ear flop behind him, to give the appearance of a fringe and a ponytail. "[And now I'm you, Happiny! Um… happiny~]"

Happiny giggled and hopped up and down excitedly. "[ _Sweeeet~!_ ]" she chimed.

"[You're so great at that, Pikachu!]" Pachirisu praised. "[I wanna get good at… um… that, too!]"

"[My imitation skills?]" Pikachu asked, letting himself go back to normal.

"[Yeah! That!]"

Pikachu hummed in amusement. "[Well, it might not be too easy. Lucky for me, I've pretty much had this skill since I met Ash. So, like some humans who can wiggle their ears, I don't think it's something that goes around very easily.]"

Pachirisu looked disappointed. "[Aww…]"

"[Hey, don't worry, though. Even if you can't imitate, you still have you own super special skill!]"

The squirrel tilted his head. "[Huh?]"

"[Yeah! No one I've ever known can run as fast as you. And you could power a small house with your electricity!]"

Pachirisu blushed a little. "[Oh, I-I… guess so!]"

"[What about me? Can I special skill?]" Happiny asked excitedly.

Pikachu chuckled again. "[You sure can! You're pretty much the strongest baby of all time, which is real special, if ya ask me.]"

She beamed. "[Hee, thanks!]" She wandered over to the tree next to them and lifted it up. Funnily, it didn't have roots, so Pikachu assumed it was dead.

Pachirisu looked impressed. "[That's soo cool!]"

Pikachu smiled. "[Sure is! It didn't even wobble when I was sitting against it.]"

Making a happy noise, Happiny tossed it to the side. It made an audible _thud_ and lightly shook the ground when it crashed against the floor.

"[So yeah, see what I mean, guys?]" Pikachu continued. "[Even if you can't do what _I_ can do, you've got stuff that's unique to you, too!]"

"[That is correct, my friend!]" Piplup chimed in, waddling over while carrying a load of berries. "[Not everybody can do some things… but everyone can do _something!_ ]"

"[Unless they're you, right?]" Pachirisu replied, giggling.

Piplup huffed amusedly. "[Perhaps so, Pachirisu. There is an exception to every rule, after all!]"

"[Oh brother…]" Pikachu remarked, smirking. "[You wish, man.]"

Putting the berries down, Piplup flicked him on the nose in mock irritation, earning some chuckles from the kids. While Pikachu rubbed his nose, his smirk not subsiding, the penguin handed the kids a berry each. "[Okay, you two. I wish to have a word with Pikachu, so you go have fun elsewhere!]"

Squealing happily, Happiny immediately began to nibble on her berry. "[Okayyy~]" she replied, getting juices everywhere. She walked away shortly afterwards.

"[Okie dokes!]" Pachirisu replied, moving elsewhere with both paws wrapped around his berry. "[Please take care of Buneary!]"

"[She's in good hands!]" Pikachu replied, waving them away.

Once the kids were out of earshot, Piplup started talking again. "[They're a fine pair of kids, are they not?]"

"[You got that right,]" Pikachu replied, smiling warmly.

Piplup sniggered. "['Tis good practice for when you and Buneary are popping out some offspring of your own, eh?]" he said, nudging Pikachu in the shoulder.

Face warming slightly, Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Whatever ya say, Piplup…]"

The penguin sniggered again. Moving over to Buneary, his look suddenly grew slightly concerned. "[So, how's she faring? She took a super effective attack directly to the head, so that cannot have been comfortable.]"

"[Can't imagine so, no…]" Pikachu replied before smiling. "[But it's good. She's already getting a little better. That gal's a tough one.]"

Piplup huffed in amusement. "[Correct as you are, it doesn't look like she's set to wake up any time, soon.]"

"[Yeah… but hey. I don't think it'll take too long, either.]"

"[We can only hope, considering how far away from any pokémon centers we are. That is what Brock said, anyway.]"

"[Explains why I was tasked with looking after Buneary, then…]" Though he still knew that probably wasn't the _only_ reason. "[Still don't know why Brock couldn't just use some super potions or whatever, though.]"

"[He has none to his name. He used them all up after our trip to that beauty contest in the middle of nowhere the other day. The one filled with women.]"

"[Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I don't think I've ever seen Croagunk work so hard in a day…]"

Piplup nodded. "[Me neither, my friend. Me neither. Poor, poor Brock…]" He picked up the wet cloth on Buneary's head to spray it with a little water from his flipper. Done with that, he tried reapplying it. However, he fumbled slightly, eventually dropping it messily on her face with a soft, wet slap. "[Gah! Accursed flippers!]" he said in annoyance.

"[Heh, hey, don't worry,]" Pikachu said, picking up the cloth and applying it properly. "[At least you're nowhere near as clumsy as you used to be, huh?]"

"[I suppose…]" Piplup pulled an exasperated face. "[Ugh. The trials and tribulations of being a bird…]"

Pikachu picked up a random berry. "[You say that when your moves are so pretty out on stage every contest.]"

Piplup grinned proudly. "[Thank you, friend. Despite my shortcomings, it would be a cold day in Hell before my contests suffer, too.]"

"[You got that right!]" Pikachu replied, biting into the small, pink berry. Chewing, he smiled as its sweet taste spread across his tongue. When he swallowed, a horrible bitter aftertaste suddenly caught him off-guard, making him gag slightly. "[Oh, good lord, that's bitter! What is this?]" he said, pulling a face.

"[Oh, sorry. That's a… magost berry, I think it was? They are widely used as an ingredient for poffins and pokéblocks.]"

"[Hm, okay then. Blech.]"

Piplup reached into the berry pile and pulled out another one. "[Here you go! Another one to make up for the last one,]" he said, offering it to the mouse. "[It should taste better, if I'm correct.]"

Sighing, Pikachu smiled and took it. "[Alright, thanks.]" Noting that it kind of looked like a strawberry - a reassuring sight - he chewed into it. Eyes widening, he spat it out. "[What the-!? Ew, that's even _more_ bitter!]"

"[Ooops!]" Piplup said, smirking lightly.

Pikachu frowned, paws on his hips. "[You totally did that on purpose, didn't you?]"

The penguin laughed. "[Caught red-winged.]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes and groaned.

"[Here, allow me to make it up to you with this,]" Piplup continued, throwing him a small, banana-shaped one. "[A nanab berry! Fresh from the vine!]"

Pikachu smiled again. "[Well, I sure like bananas, so why not?]" He lifted it to his mouth.

"[Just like Ambipom, then! Ask her anything about bananas, and she'll tell you about them.]"

Pikachu popped the berry into his mouth and began to chew. "[Yeah, I'll- _Urghhh!_ ]" He plucked its gooey remains out of his mouth while pulling a face.

Piplup fell into a fit of giggles at the sight. "[Oops, again!]"

Pikachu grumpily flicked the berry to the ground. A sweet taste lingered on his tongue, but it wasn't appreciated, considering the horrible bitterness that had come before it. "[For crying out loud, Piplup!]" he replied, grumpily.

"[What's going on?]" Ambipom asked suddenly, coming closer. "[I heard the word 'bananas', and then some shenanigans, so I'd better get some answers, boys. They're two of my favorite things!]"

"[Nothing, my dear girl, nothing!]" Piplup responded, barely holding back laughter. "[I was just about to offer Pikachu another apology berry. For all the bitter ones I… um, _accidentally_ gave him. Here you go, my friend!]" He scanned the pile for a while before picking up another one and handing it to the mouse.

Pikachu suspiciously eyed up the odd-looking red berry with peeling skin. "[Um…]"

"[This one's better, I promise! It has the sweetness of a thousand donuts!]"

"[Well… I _do_ like donuts, I guess,]" Pikachu responded, taking it from the penguin and slipping it into his mouth. It had a very strange, sweet-like taste about it, which… was honestly really good! Not to mention, strangely nostalgic…

… until the horrible bitterness kicked in and made him spit it back out, nearly choking. "[ _Aghhh,_ damn you, Piplup, you fricker!]" he cried.

Piplup could barely stop himself from rolling on the ground laughing. Ambipom also looked like she was about to crack up.

"[Haha, nice one, man,]" the monkey said, patting Piplup on the head. "[This is why you and me are friends.]"

"[R-Right you are, Ambipom!]" the penguin replied, still laughing up a storm.

Recovering from the horrible berry, Pikachu frowned at them both. "[Oh, I'll frigging bet…]"

Inhaling slowly to recover, Piplup shook his head. "[Okay, I'm truly sorry, my friend. I shall make it up to you, yet. For real, this time.]"

"[… Really?]"

Piplup nodded, picking up another berry and handing it to him. "[Really.]"

Sighing, Pikachu looked the berry over. It looked rather green, so he was immediately suspicious.

"[It's an aguav berry,]" Piplup said, probably noting the look Pikachu was giving it. "[It's far nicer than it looks, I assure you.]"

"[Well… okay…]" Pikachu replied before biting into the corner of the berry. After chewing it for a while, he noticed that, while it did taste rather… plant-like, it wasn't really all that bad. "[Hey, this is nice, actually.]"

"[Isn't it?]" Piplup said, smiling widely. "[I hear it gets even better near the stem!]"

"[Okay, cool.]" Pikachu bit into the section of the berry that connected to the stem. A dire bitterness coursed through his tongue, making him spit the berry out immediately.

Piplup and Ambipom broke into fits of laughter at the sight.

"[Strike four! Yes!]" Piplup sang, laughing again immediately afterwards.

"[Oh, screw me, sideways…]" Pikachu muttered, starting to feel incredibly strange and woozy. As well as more bitter than the berries he'd been eating.

"[Better not say that around Buneary,]" Ambipom joked when she calmed down. "[Even if she isn't quite with it, right now.]"

"[T-True… enough…]" Pikachu said, finding it hard to stand as everything began to become blurry. Before it could get worse, he felt someone shove something into his mouth. Chewing on it, he began to feel okay and stable again. He was also delighted at the new tastes flowing through his mouth. Unfortunately, though, whatever berry he'd eaten had been a little small and shriveled, so he'd barely gotten any taste out of it. Drat…

Regardless, he thanked Ambipom for putting the anti-confusion berry into his mouth. She grinned in response. "[Hey, no probs. Anyway, speaking of Little Miss Shameless…]" she said, reaching for a yellow berry with one of her tails, "[I'd better help her out a bit. Wet cloths are good, but with some sitrus berries, she'll be fit as a fiddle in minutes.]"

"[Always the berry expert,]" Piplup said. "[It is no wonder that my berry trolling has improved drastically over the months. With a tutor such as you.]"

"[No kidding,]" Pikachu said, frowning dryly.

"[I aim to please,]" Ambipom replied with a chuckle. Investigating Buneary, she clicked her tongue. "[What? No ice pack?]"

"[I couldn't find one,]" Pikachu responded. "[And we can't exactly ask _her_ to give us any ice, when she's like this.]"

"[Then ask Mamoswine! He's a blatant ice-type.]"

Pikachu blinked. "[… Oh yeah. I always forget that.]"

Groaning, she shrugged sassily. "[Now, see, _this_ is why we never ask you for advice.]"

Pikachu could only chuckle sheepishly in response. "[… Good point.]"

Rolling her eyes, the monkey burst open the berry and let its juices spread over Buneary before rubbing them into her fur.

The sight of the lotion-like juice being slowly spread across the rabbit's body sent strange shivers up Pikachu's spine, so he turned to glare at Piplup, instead. "[U-Um, anyway, that's the last time I trust _your_ berry advice, man!]" he complained.

"[I do not see why. Ambipom always praises those berries like she does the heavens,]" the penguin replied with a smirk.

"[I'll flipping send you to Heaven in a second, Piplup,]" Pikachu snarked, paws to his hips.

"[Oh, quit ya whining, buddy!]" Ambipom remarked with a chuckle.

Pikachu turned to say something to her, but a berry thrown in his direction made him yelp as he scrambled to catch it. Once he had a firm hold of it, he scanned it, noting that it looked like a string of peas in a pod.

"[Now _this_ berry isn't going to make you upchuck everywhere,]" she explained. "[So eat it and cheer up, ya grouch!]"

Huffing, Pikachu bit into it. "[Yeah, alright. Thanks, Ambi- _Aghghhgh,_ oh… Arceus… _nooo!_ ]" he coughed, spitting it out in a near vomit.

Ambipom and Piplup both broke into laughter yet again.

"[Alright, I lied,]" Ambipom remarked. "[Getting on your nerves is just too funny to pass up.]"

"[For… crying out loud…]" Pikachu muttered. "[Screw… you, too…]"

"[Hehe! Consider it payback for the bet we made last week. Where you made me uncover my butt for, like, half an hour.]"

Remembering the incident, Pikachu managed a small snicker. "[Well… to be fair, you _almost_ got away with it without anyone noticing.]"

She cringed. "[Yeah, 'till I bent down right in full view of poor Piplup over here.]"

Piplup stopped laughing as much, his face reddening. "[Yes… what a day.]"

"[A day with no complaining from you at all, I'll bet,]" Pikachu replied with a sassy smirk. "[Especially after that comment of yours that was like… 'Which legendary did I please today for this to happen,' or something.]"

The penguin's face went even redder as he flusteredly flailed around. "[ _Gah!_ What the freaking hell, Pikachu, don't tell her that!]"

The monkey put her paws to her hips and gave him a look. "[Oh, you did, did ya?]" she said.

He began to sweat. "[U-Um, w-well, y-y-y'know! Y'know? I, um…]" He blinked, something catching his attention. "[… Huh? What's with that picture of you and a… Another pokémon?]" he asked, pointing at something.

Hearing that, Pikachu jolted. Looking in the direction the penguin was pointing in, he saw the paper he'd been guarding, unraveled on the ground for everyone in the small group to see. The picture an old friend of Ash's had drawn, of Pikachu sleeping alongside another friend they'd made that day.

Pikachu groaned. "[Ahh, darn it all. Must've fallen off when you tried to poison me to death,]" he said, moving over to pick it up.

"[Who was that next to ya?]" Ambipom asked. "[Looked kind of familiar…]"

Sighing, Pikachu left it on the ground. "[I'm surprised you didn't recognize her, honestly.]" He pointed at the drawing of the delicately-framed pokémon sleeping soundly next to him. "[She's called Celebi. She's a friend me and Ash made at some point, during a trip to an enchanted forest.]"

Ambipom looked intrigued, though Piplup's eyes bulged. "[Celebi!?]" he exclaimed. "[Is that not a legendary pokémon? Like… a _very_ legendary legendary pokémon?]"

Pikachu smiled. "[You got that right! Though you'd have never guessed it, talking to her. She was pretty modest about things. Not to mention pretty young. Like, newborn young, apparently.]"

"[A rare legendary babe, huh? Cool!]" Ambipom said. She shrugged. "[I mean… not as impressive as meeting Lord Mew could've been, but… hey, it's something!]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Jeez, even if I'd met _Arceus,_ you wouldn't be impressed.]"

She looked perturbed. "[Ugh, no way, I'd be _horrified._ In my old clan, we viewed Arceus as the bringer of doomsday and the apocalypse.]"

Piplup chuckled. "[Wow, really? It is not the tale I usually hear being told. Most pokémon view him as a deity who created everything!]"

"[Well, I view him as a big dick who took Pokélantis away from us.]" She paused for a second. "[… I mean, no offense if you're into him, but still.]"

Pikachu blinked. Huh… that was a place he, Ash and the old gang had visited sometime during their 'Battle Frontier' days in Kanto. Just a few days before meeting Ambipom, too, funnily enough. Maybe she was onto something…

"[None taken,]" Piplup responded to her. "[I do not tend to take much mind of legendaries and their tales, anyway.]"

"[So you don't believe in them?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Oh, but I do! At least, since the incident with Palkia and Dialga. And the one with Shaymin and Giratina.]"

"[All minions of the demon lord, Arceus, might I add,]" Ambipom interjected. "['Cept for Shaymin, obviously. She's cool.]"

Piplup crossed his arms. "[Speak for yourself! She was a vile vixen, she was. Always causing trouble for us while she was around.]"

She sniggered lightly. "[I'll bet you're just still salty that she bit you.]"

Piplup pouted. "[Damn straight! Right after her pancake thievery, too!]" He huffed. "[… Bitch.]"

She chuckled even louder. "[Well, you ain't wrong.]" Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, she looked back at Pikachu. "[Anyways, answers, buddy! What's with the paper?]"

"[Well, it's Ash's,]" he replied. "[I think he shoved it into his bag at some point, but it must've gotten free. Took me ages trying to catch the frigging thing, 'cos the wind kept catching it back.]"

"[Huh, okay then,]" she replied. "[Explains why you took a century and a half getting back to us with them berries.]"

He huffed. "[I didn't take _that_ long, c'mon.]"

"[When you're starved, minutes take forever, believe me.]"

"[Please, don't stop there, Pikachu,]" Piplup interjected. "[How in Dawn's name did you find such a drawing? Did Ash draw you and your legendary friend together?]"

Ambipom shrugged. "[Doubt it. There's no way Ash could draw _this_ well.]"

"[Right you are. He didn't,]" Pikachu replied with a chuckle. "[It's a present! Ash saw it in a picture frame in Professor Oak's home while calling him on his video phone… so Tracey made him a copy to take around with him.]"

"[Why… would he just have that lying around?]" Ambipom asked, scratching her head.

"[Beats me. The guy who drew it was somebody from-…]" Pikachu paused before shaking his head. "[Actually, nah, forget it. I'll tell you guys more at lunch, like I was gonna do before.]"

His two friends groaned disappointedly.

"[This is totally because of the berries, ain't it?]" Ambipom asked dryly.

"[Heh, well, no, but now that you mention it… my throat still tastes like garbage, so yeah.]" He picked his piece of paper up, folded it and tucked it behind his ear. Turning to the others, he stuck his tongue out at them. "[… Nyeh!]"

They gave annoyed responses, much to his amusement.

"[Besides,]" he continued, "[I'd rather get your...]" Pikachu gulped, "[... _bet_ outta the way first. For better or worse.]"

A big grin of realization grew on Ambipom's face. One that filled him with dread. "[Aha, yes! And boy, do I have a fun one for you!]" she replied.

"[Oh, goody...]"

"[Welp, time's-a wastin'! Right, first we'll need to find some honey and lots of bug-types.]"

Piplup gasped excitedly. "[Ooh, I believe there were a group of heracross in the woods nearby! And Brock has _plenty_ of honey! Even though he has no super potions.]"

Ambipom rubbed her paws together. "[Ohh, we're gonna have fun~]"

Pikachu sighed. And to think... this could've been even worse.

"[Hey, Pikachu, catch!]" someone said out of nowhere. Jolting and turning to face the voice, Pikachu saw something flying towards him. Yelping, he reached up and grabbed it, mere inches away from his face. Looking up at whoever threw it, he saw Buizel, arms crossed. "[Hopefully that'll taste better than whatever crap they were feeding you earlier.]"

Looking down at it, Pikachu saw that it was another berry. Pink and yellow this time, which was a vaguely reassuring sign that it wasn't awful, at least.

"[Oh, a qualot berry, eh?]" Ambipom said.

Pausing briefly, Piplup rubbed his chin. "[I do not know about you, my friend, but it sounds quite bitter to me. Perhaps you shouldn't eat it...!]"

"[Pfft, bullshit. I just ate one earlier,]" Buizel retorted.

"[Perhaps you were mistaken, Buizel! There are many pink berries in the world!]"

"[Yes, and I'm tempted to beat you over the head with one of 'em, you troublemaker.]"

Piplup huffed, flippers to his hips. "[I'd like to see you try, my rival!]"

Buizel huffed back at him, arms still crossed.

Shaking his head exasperatedly, Pikachu shrugged and popped the berry into his mouth. A wondrous mix of sour, spicy, and - most importantly - sweet flavors washed through his mouth, eliminating the horrible tastes from before immediately.

As he enjoyed the lovely treat, Ambipom hummed in curiosity. "[Wait, weren't you watching the battle?]" she asked Buizel.

"[It's over. Grotle won by using Mamoswine's Ancient Power against him… while he was distracted with pulling off some contest stunt.]"

"[Aww, drat. Guess that's two to one, then.]"

"[Right. I think they're gonna have another fight to even the score... but Dawn doesn't have anyone to fight Chimchar with, so they're taking a break to think things through for now.]"

Piplup's shoulders sagged. "[It only reminds me of how I wish Dawn would hurry up and find her sixth pokémon, soon. Great as I am, I cannot carry an incomplete team.]"

"[Say... on that note...]" Ambipom started.

Buizel uncrossed his arms and huffed. "[No, I'm done with contests, so I'm staying with Ash.]"

Dawn's two pokémon groaned in disappointment.

Swallowing his berry with a loud sigh of content, Pikachu beamed up at the weasel. "[Hey, thanks for the food, Buizel!]" he said. He shot a quick glare at Piplup and Ambipom. "[Glad someone's got my back, at least.]"

They giggled sheepishly. From the looks on their faces, though, he could tell that they didn't regret it. Those hooligans...

"[Heard you guys talking during the fight,]" Buizel started, "[and, Pikachu... you've really got to work on that naivety of yours. If these guys can make you eat your least favorite food several times in a frigging row... then I'm dreading the day someone comes along, who _really_ wants to scam you something fierce.]"

Pikachu rubbed his head in embarrassment. "[Y-Yeah, yeah, I know... To, um, be fair, though... they put up one heck of a good argument.]"

Buizel groaned. "[For frick's sake... you're hopeless, man.]"

Pikachu's face warmed. He wished he could deny it, but...

"[Aw, lay off him, man,]" Ambipom chided, a paw to her hip. "[Who's gonna take advantage of him, anyway?]"

Buizel clicked his tongue. "[With that sort of thinking, he _is_ going to get himself into hell at some point. Like that time you apparently got fooled into giving yourself to Team Rocket, just to free someone else.]"

"[Oh, I believe that was Buneary,]" Piplup replied. "[A stranger at the time, I'd like to add.]"

Buizel looked exasperated. "[... To free a freaking stranger, at that.]"

"[H-Hey, that wasn't me being naive!]" Pikachu retorted. "[I owed her one for saving me from being run over to death. I mean, I probably would've been fine, and she only did it 'cos she thinks I'm hot, but...]"

"[You still trusted them to hold up their end of the bargain, when you knew they wouldn't.]"

Suddenly feeling defensive, Pikachu frowned. "[Well, what was I _supposed_ to do? I couldn't just leave her!]"

The weasel huffed. "[Could've just gone for help.]"

"[She _froze_ the help!]"

Buizel blinked. "[... What, really?]"

Caught off-guard, Pikachu also blinked. "[Um... yeah. Ash and Dawn were about to try catching her again. So she froze everyone to flirt with me some more.]"

"[... Huh.]" Buizel huffed in amusement. "[Sounds like her, I guess.]"

"[Um... heh, yeah. For sure,]" Pikachu replied, chuckling lightly.

"[Ambipom, my girl, are you okay there?]" Piplup asked, looking at the monkey in concern.

Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu and Buizel both glanced at Ambipom. She had her face scrunched up, as if in concentration. Eventually, she clicked the fingers on one of her tails' hands. "[No- I mean, yeah, thanks. But no. I have a better idea for a bet!]"

Pikachu's ears dipped slightly. A bet that excited her even more!? "[Oh... goody, goody...]" he mumbled.

"[What could be a better suggestion than the honey bug dare?]" Piplup asked, head tilted.

"[... The what?]" Buizel muttered, looking weirded out.

"[Don't ask...]" Pikachu muttered back.

"[Well... speaking of Buneary...]" Ambipom replied to Piplup, looking at the still-unconscious bunny in question. "[I've actually been curious about something for a while... and now's the perfect time for some answers.]"

Pikachu cocked his head. "[Huh? Answers?]"

She turned to face him and nodded. "[Yup! Here's the deal. You have to answer _all_ of our questions about Buneary, no matter what they are. And to keep it fair, it's one per customer, and only everyone in this little group, at that.]"

Pikachu blinked. "[Oh... okay then...?]" He scratched the side of his head. "[I, er... can't decide if that's better or worse. What kinds of questions d'you mean?]"

"[Anything and everything!]"

"[Oooh, is that so...?]" Piplup asked, rubbing his flippers together in an almost evil manner.

"[Uh oh...]" Pikachu said, suddenly feeling very worried.

Smirking, Ambipom nodded at Buizel. "[You start, man.]"

The weasel looked caught off-guard. "[Huh? Oh, um... Any question, right? Er...]" He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "[... Pfft, I dunno. Do you... find her attractive, or whatever?]"

"[Ooh, nice start!]" the monkey said. "[Okay, you heard him, Pikachu! Be truthful! And no boring answers, either.]"

Pikachu stalled for a while, his face growing increasingly warm. "[O-Oh, well... I mean, yeah, I guess... She's, uh...]" He rubbed the back of his head, "[... cute.]"

"[Cute, huh?]" Buizel said, looking somewhat amused.

"[Y-Yeah!]"

"[Why? What's cute?]"

Pikachu's face went warmer. "[Well, y'know, er... I like her fluff. And her fur. They look good together, and she keeps it all looking clean and shiny and... what have ya. A-And she has a very pretty face, with her nose, and brows, and... her... fluff. Did I say fluff?]"

Piplup chuckled. "[You sure did, my friend! You must be a big fan! Of the back of it, especially, I'll bet!]"

"[Y-Yeah. She has a nice tail, and her fluff's-]" he started, pausing as Piplup had begun to giggle. Realizing what the penguin had meant, his face went far hotter. "[... Oh, I get it.]" He heaved a sigh. "[Yeah, she... has a nice butt, sure. What little we can see of it, anyway.]"

Piplup giggled even harder. "[Very good to hear!]"

"[So, you think she's a hot one, do ya?]" Ambipom added, grinning.

"[... Yes,]" Pikachu replied with a slight pout. "[... I-I like cute, strong girls. Sue me.]"

Piplup and Ambipom chuckled at him while Buizel smirked ever so slightly.

"[Right, fair enough,]" the weasel said. "[I'm good with that.]"

Pikachu exhaled slowly. "[Okay, cool...]" And to think, that was only question number one.

"[Shall I take _my_ turn? Please?]" Piplup asked, looking especially eager.

"[Mmm, why don't you go last?]" Ambipom replied. "[Gotta save the best 'till last, after all. Amirite?]"

Piplup looked slightly deflated. "[Aww. Well, okay...]" He puffed his chest out. "[I shall await my turn with bated breath!]"

"[Oh, I'll bet...]" Pikachu said snarkily.

"[So, on that note... my turn~]" Ambipom chimed. "[How much do you like Buneary, anyway?]"

"[D'you mean romantically?]"

"[What do _you_ think, mousey boy?]"

He exhaled through his nose. "[Well... I don't know. I, er...]" He felt the heat in his face grow fiercer, "[... think I do.]"

"[Ohhh~?]" Ambipom and Piplup chimed, looking very interested.

"[Y-Yeah.]" He looked over at the bunny in question, who was still sleeping soundly. "[... She's always making me laugh and smile... and she certainly makes me feel special enough, with all her attention and praise and stuff.]" He bashfully looked off to the side. "[So yeah. I-I'd... be pretty stupid to say that I don't like her.]"

Ambipom and Piplup both hummed in approval, though Buizel just shrugged. "[What else is new?]" he said dryly. "[Most of the team thought you two were friends with benefits at some point. Hell, I'm still not convinced that you aren't.]"

Pikachu snorted. "[Oh, no way! I don't want to do that sort of stuff for no reason. I want that sort of stuff to mean something, and... well, y'know.]"

With a chuckle, Ambipom nodded. "[Good boy, Pikachu! Screwing around with a non-partner was a big no-no back where I came from.]"

"[Heh... Glad to know I'd fit in.]" He twiddled his fingers together. "[Um, but yeah. It's not love or anything, but... well, I kinda like Buneary, y-yeah. She's really grown on me. I mean, I'm not one hundred percent sure about things, but I'm sure enough to say that.]"

The others smiled at the news, some more cheekily than the rest.

"[Right. Neat,]" Buizel replied.

"[D-Don't tell her I said that, though,]" Pikachu quickly added. "[I'll never hear the end of it...]"

Piplup gave him a reassuring look. "[For you, my friend, I think I speak for everyone when I say that our lips are sealed! … And my beak, too.]"

Ambipom nodded. "[As much as she'd love to hear it, yeah. It's a secret, man! But don't keep it to yourself forever. You two get along great, so I'd hate to see you both lose your chances.]"

"[I'll... try not to,]" Pikachu replied.

She grinned. "[Anyway, time for the big moment! Piplup, if you please!]"

The penguin hopped on the balls of his feet excitedly. "[Ooh, with pleasure!]" He cleared his throat. "[Okay then...]"

"[Here we go...]" Pikachu mumbled, knowing very well what sort of question was coming his way.

"[What kinds of dirty dreams have you had of our favorite lagomorph?]"

Pikachu blinked a few times before smirking triumphantly. "[Aha! Nice try, pal... but I don't think I've ever had any. Most of my dreams are pretty safe. When they're not busy freaking me out, anyway, like the one I had this morning.]"

Piplup's face fell. "[What!? Oh, come on…!]" He huffed and crossed his arms. "[That was _such_ an anti-climax…]"

"[Yeah, I agree, that was garbage,]" Ambipom added, looking unimpressed. "[Do over. Ask another one!]"

Brightening immediately, he did a flipper pump. "[ _Yes!_ Oh, many thanks, Ambipom!]"

Pikachu groaned. "[What? How's _that_ fair?]"

"['Cos deal with it, that's why,]" Ambipom retorted, sticking her tongue out.

Pikachu rolled his eyes. So much for that, then…

Piplup tapped his foot, as if deep in thought. Eventually, he clapped his flippers together. "[Okay, a better one! Tell us all of the daydreams you've had while you've - if you'll excuse my crudeness - … had a jerking session to Buneary.]"

Pikachu felt his blood go cold. "[ _W-What!?_ ]"

"[Ohh, man. _Now_ we're getting results!]" Ambipom said, cringing up a storm while grinning.

Buizel huffed in disgust. "[Ugh, what's wrong with you, Piplup? Why do you want to know _that_ of all things?]"

"[Utter embarrassment is worth its weight in gold, my dear rival!]" Piplup responded.

Buizel frowned bewilderedly. "[Th-That's… Ugh, still!]"

Pikachu swallowed hard. Oh, for frick's sake. He almost wished they'd gone ahead with the honey dare. "[W-Well… that's… well… yeah, um… eheh…]" he stammered, his face reaching levels of heat he didn't know were possible. Good lord, what would he even say!?

"[If you're struggling, I guess a good thing to start with would be… have you?]" Piplup asked, smirking.

"[… I, er…]" Pikachu stared at the ground. "[Yeah. Um. A-A few times, I guess…]"

Piplup sniggered. "[As if there was ever any doubt, friend!]"

Ambipom also sniggered. "[Oh, dear… well, any daydream stories you wanna share? He did ask for some, after all!]"

Pikachu exhaled heavily, looking in any direction that wasn't theirs. "[W-Well… I, er… I once… daydreamed that we were… battling while her… um, the fur covering her chest was… uncovered. I… think it ended in a muddy wrestling match, too…]"

The two troublemakers giggled heavily while Buizel just clicked his tongue.

"[Oh, I'll _bet_ there was wrestling involved,]" Ambipom teased.

Huffing, Pikachu took a deep breath. "[Er… there was the other one, where, um… Team Rocket captured her, but then the cage did a thing, and… she lost all her fur, and… um, started showing off. To me. Specifically. While still in the… th-the cage.]"

Piplup and Ambipom laughed even harder while Buizel looked somewhat weirded out.

"[Um… very elaborate,]" the weasel said with a raised eyebrow. "[Do you always dream up scenarios that… specific?]"

Pikachu forced out an awkward chuckle. "[Well, you know… it, er… makes the sess- Um, th-the… 'thing' more exciting when there's a story to… go with it. And stuff.]"

"[My friend, your kinkiness is unlimited!]" Piplup responded, going into more fits of laughter, along with Ambipom.

"[H-Hey… it's not _that_ bad…]" Pikachu replied, pouting and using his tail to cover his crotch. Just in case.

"[Knowing you, I'll bet that's not all, Fifty Shades Of Yellow!]" Ambipom joked. "[Keep going, this is way funnier than I thought it'd be!]"

"[Ugh… fine… Um… well, there was the one where… Buneary learned to clone herself, and… th-they all had different outfits. Like her vest, a maid costume, a lacy night gown, and a nurse costume, a-and the… Um, one of Ash's hats, and-]"

* * *

"[… And we decided that, until the zombie problem calmed down, we would have to…]" Pikachu continued before swallowing hard, "[… breed. Based on Oak's pedigree chart for everyone in the lab.]"

His two friends were in fits of howling laughter at this point, much to his extreme embarrassment. Buizel, however, just looked incredibly perturbed.

"[Right, um…]" the weasel started, crossing his arms and his legs, "[how in Hell's name do you have over twenty different stories… which you remember all so frigging vividly?]"

Pikachu wiped the cold sweat off his face. "[… I don't have an answer for you, I-I won't lie.]"

"[Good heavens, are you, like, a 'one a day' sort of man, or something?]" Ambipom asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"[Perhaps 'two a day' is more fitting…]" Piplup replied, also wiping tears away.

"[N-No comment…]" Pikachu mumbled, covering his red hot face. "[Look, I just... like it when they have more meaning and stuff. And Buneary's really attractive, a-and...]" He groaned as the laughter carried on. Well, at least they weren't finding it creepy, if nothing else.

"[Okay, can we _please_ go to some other topic, or whatever?]" Buizel said. "[If I have to hear any more masturbation stories from Pikachu, I'm going to be sick.]"

"[D-Don't phrase it that way, c'mon...]" Pikachu mumbled sheepishly.

"[And yet you decided to hang around instead of going somewhere else,]" Ambipom retorted to Buizel.

The weasel flinched lightly. "[Ugh, w-well… I don't have anything better to do than stick here with you guys, so…]"

She huffed in amusement. "[Admit it. You're just as curious as we were!]"

"[Perhaps morbidly so, from the sounds of it,]" Piplup added.

Buizel just exhaled forcefully through his nose and shrugged indignantly.

"[Hah, and on that note… I think that should tide us over, Pikachu,]" Ambipom said.

"[Absolutely!]" Piplup agreed. "['Twas far better than I ever could have expected!]"

Pikachu flopped onto his front. An uncomfortable act, considering the circumstances, but he was too relieved to care. "[Oh, sweet freedom…]"

"[Guess that's it for the questions, then, huh?]" Buizel said. "[For better or worse.]"

"[Guess so,]" Ambipom said.

"[Hey, everyone,]" a voice said suddenly.

Pikachu angled his head towards him. "[Oh. H-Hey, Chimchar.]"

Everyone else greeted him, too.

"[Um, so…]" Chimchar started, scratching his head, "[… what was that about questions? Is someone getting interrogated over here?]"

"[Sort of. Our dear Pikachu lost one of Ambipom's bets,]" Piplup explained, "[so everyone here gets to ask Pikachu a question about Buneary. Any question, at that.]"

Chimchar looked perturbed. "[O-Oh dear,]" he said, giving Pikachu a sympathetic look. "[Poor you. I'll bet they asked the worst stuff.]"

Pikachu slowly exhaled. "[Y-Yeah… let's just say that I'm glad you weren't here a minute ago. I damn near had a fit of heatstroke from all the blushing.]"

"[J-Jeez…]" Chimchar responded. "[I'm so glad I never take a challenge from anyone. That would end real badly.]"

"[Pfft. That's garbage,]" Buizel retorted. "[You take on fights all the time. You love challenges.]"

"[Not if there's any terms or conditions, I don't! I could sign my life away and not even know it.]"

"[No sense of adventure,]" Piplup replied, shrugging sassily.

Buizel huffed. "[What're you talking about? _You_ never take Ambipom's bets, either.]"

Pikachu nodded. "[And I'm pretty sure you got the 'mark of shame' for refusing to do her dare, when you lost your sole bet with her, too.]"

Piplup blinked. "[W-Well… um…]" he replied, suddenly looking very sheepish.

"[Oh yeah…]" Ambipom mumbled. "[Thanks for reminding me!]" She pointed at Piplup with both her tails' hands. "[Shame! Shame!]"

Pikachu pointed at him. "[Hehe, shame!]"

Buizel paused for a long moment before sticking a finger out at him from his crossed arms. "[… Shame.]"

Chimchar looked apologetic. "[Um… d-don't hold it against me, man, but…]" He also pointed. "[Shame!]"

Piplup flailed around irritably. "[Aghh, for frick's sake! It's not my fault I didn't want to wear Ash's stupid underwear on my head all day!]"

Ambipom sniggered. "[Sure it is! Shame!]"

The others chuckled at the penguin's misfortune while he continued to flail about.

Eventually, Ambipom gave Chimchar an inviting look. "[Hey, d'you wanna ask Pikachu a question, too?]" she asked. "[I mean, I did say 'everyone in the group', and you're here in the group now, so...]"

Pikachu's eyes widened. "[Huh!?]"

Chimchar sheepishly waved his hands dismissively. "[N-Naww, I... couldn't do that.]"

"[Come on, bro!]" Ambipom continued, nudging him in the arm with a hand on one of her tails. "[It can be anything you like. Embarrassing or simple or whatever. As long as it's about Buneary.]"

"[And isn't about how much he wants to screw her, preferably...]" Buizel snarked.

She rolled her eyes. "[Ignore him, that's fine, too.]"

Chimchar paused, almost seeming contemplative. After a short while, he tapped his fingers together. "[Well... there was _one_ thing I've been wondering about...]"

"[Um... yeah?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Why... haven't you tried dating Buneary yet? I mean, everyone knows that she likes you... and you seem to think she's cool, too, so... Yeah, why aren't you two a thing, yet?]"

"[Hm... good point,]" Buizel said curiously. "[With all your playful back and forth with her, and all of your...]" He briefly closed his eyes, as if holding back a cringe, "[... _'fantasies_ '... it's amazing you two aren't already seeing each other.]"

Pikachu inhaled deeply, and somewhat shakily. "[Ah, well... I, um...]" He glanced at Buneary, who was still resting peacefully. "[... I-I... kinda want to, but...]" He exhaled through his nose. "[Well, I've... always told myself that, if I ever got into the dating scene, I'd... go for something serious, and permanent, and... You get the picture.]"

"[Eh?]" Ambipom replied, scratching her head with a hand on one of her tails. "[And you don't think dating Buneary would be serious?]"

"[... I have no idea, that's the thing!]" he replied, shrugging exaggeratedly. "[She playfully flirts with me all the time, which is fun enough, and something I... kinda like, and stuff, but...]" He sighed. "[... Well, I dunno if she actually like-likes me, or if she's just... y'know. Being playful.]" He looked off to the side. "[... Especially since all she ever compliments me on is my looks and my skills.]" He twiddled his fingers. "[... N-Not that I'm complaining, but yeah. Eheh.]"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others giving him some very intrigued faces of varying kinds.

"[I see...]" Chimchar replied. "[That explains a lot. You're afraid of her not being very committed.]"

"[Pretty much, I guess,]" Pikachu replied, turning to face him. "[I mean, I trust her, and I know she wouldn't do anything not so kosher, but... well, I dunno if a true boyfriend's what she really wants. She says it is, but with all the playful flirting, who knows for sure?]"

Piplup gave an interested hum. "[Clearly, this is something that has been on your mind a lot, my friend...]"

"[Hah, well, with her, can you blame me? I don't think anyone has ever even given me a little flirt before, 'till she came along.]"

Piplup huffed in amusement. "[Provided you didn't have a girlfriend before the amnesia, anyway.]"

"[Oh lord, I hope not... I don't wanna see a fight to the death between Buneary and any exes just yet.]"

The others looked very confused.

"[Amnesia...?]" Buizel muttered, head tilted.

Ambipom scratched her head. "[You mean... like that time you tagged along with Team Rocket for the day, after a bad case of amnesia? Swellow told me all about it.]"

"[Hah, no, no,]" Pikachu replied, shaking his paws dismissively. "[Before I met Oak, and afterwards, Ash... I woke up without a clue who I was. And unlike that annoying time with Team Rocket, I still haven't gotten anything back from before then.]"

"[He told me, Pachirisu and Buneary at breakfast,]" Piplup explained. "[An entire life he can't remember.]"

The others gave the mouse a sympathetic look.

"[Jeez...]" Ambipom muttered. "[That really sucks. Sorry to hear it.]"

"[Yeah,]" Chimchar agreed. "[I'd be a nervous wreck if I didn't know anything about myself, so it can't be good for you...]"

"[Ehh, s'all good!]" Pikachu replied with a smile. "[I was pretty young anyway, I think, so I probably didn't miss much.]"

"[... Hope so,]" Buizel replied. "[And if you did... I hope it was something worth forgetting.]"

Pikachu nodded with a smile. "[Same, thanks.]" He let out a breath. "[Well, guess that does it for the Buneary questions, anyway.]" He glanced around. "[Unless... someone else is lurking about with an even more embarras-]" He noticed with a start that Buneary had completely disappeared. All that was left was the tree that still laid toppled over nearby. "[Ah! Where's Bune-!?]"

"[Buneary questions, eh~?]" her voice asked from behind him all of a sudden.

Yelping, he spun around on the spot to face the beaming rabbit in question. "[Oh, god, Buneary!]"

She giggled. "[If everyone in the group gets one, then... it's...]" She winked, "[... _my_ turn!]"

Ambipom also giggled. "[Uh oh, _here_ we go!]"

Pikachu's face went warm again, though his blood felt oddly cold. 'Uh oh', indeed.

"[Er...]" Buizel started, "[how much of the questions have you been listening in on, anyway?]"

Pikachu's blood went colder still. Oh, dear lord, that was a good point. Had she been listening in on his 'confession' of sorts? Or worse, his 'fantasies'!?

Innocently putting her arms behind her back, Buneary shrugged. "[Nooo idea what'cha mean...]"

"[... Uh huh,]" Buizel replied, an eyebrow raised.

Pikachu gave a small sigh of relief. Thank freaking goodness...

"[Anyway, whatever,]" Buneary continued, eagerly looking his way. "[Question time, if you please!]"

Feeling a little sweat start to drip down his face, the mouse gulped. "[Er... l-l-lemmie guess... "Wanna date?", right?]"

"[Hehe, tempting~! But nah. Methinks this calls for a _big_ one!]"

The sweat pouring down his face intensified. "[... Uh oh.]"

She nuzzled up next to him. "[So, baby...]" She gave him a half-lidded look, "[how much do you wanna tap my ass, anyway?]"

Stiffening, Pikachu nearly choked. Sadly, though, he wasn't entirely surprised. "[O-Oh legends, really?]"

With a giggle and a cheeky grin, she wiggled her butt, causing the fluff to bounce about in an almost hypnotic way. "[D'you want me to repeat myself?]"

Chimchar blushed heavily with a cringe. "[Ohhh, man, that's freaking awful... Why would you ask something so awkward?]"

"[Not the worst I've heard...]" Buizel mumbled, making Piplup beam with pride.

"[Well... you heard the girl, man!]" Ambipom said, clearly very amused. "[Better answer!]"

Pikachu sighed heavily, his face growing warmer than ever. Despite everything, though, he couldn't stop the faintest of grins from growing, too. Sheepish as it was. "[Well... I... think you look... y'know, good, so... I-I, er...]" He looked elsewhere, towards the grassy ground. "[... Yeah. A lot.]"

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a blush forming on the bunny's face as she angled her unrolled ear towards him. "[Heehee, ohh?]"

"[A-A lot...]"

"[C'moooon, that's not very clear, is it?]" she replied, playfully nudging him in the side. "[Care to elaborate, my future mate?]"

Pikachu fidgeted sheepishly. He fidgeted even harder when he noticed that the others had begun to chuckle amongst themselves. Heck, a snort of amusement had even managed to escape Buizel, too, making things even more awkward. The only one who seemed displeased was Chimchar, who just looked kind of weirded out. Not that Pikachu entirely blamed him.

Sighing again, the mouse nodded slowly. "[F-Fine. I would _really_ l-like to... um... y-y'know.]" He squeezed his eyes shut. "[Um... bang you.]"

Piplup and Ambipom both burst into laughter, while Buizel and Chimchar cringed, one more heavily than the other. Needless to say, though, neither of their cringes could match the one forming on Pikachu's face.

Unsurprisingly, Buneary's reaction was a mix of both utter amusement and adoration. While giggling heavily, she was shuffling about, her paws to her cheeks. "[Heee~! Now that's love, right there!]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Eheh... in your dreams, maybe...]"

She stopped shuffling about to flutter her eyelashes at him. "[Maybe later on, I should make _your_ dreams come true, eh? _Eh?_ ]"

Pikachu snorted. "[Um... we'll see about that.]"

She laughed and moved away from him. Once she was close enough to her, Ambipom rubbed her on her rolled up ear with a hand on one of her tails.

"[Good girl, you shameless bunny, you,]" the monkey chimed.

"[I aim to please~]" Buneary replied.

Piplup stopped laughing to grin jovially at her. "[Yes. And to think our comment about you having dirty dreams put a blush on your face, too.]"

She shrugged. "[Hey, I don't mind the silly comments, but not in front of the kids, ya dingus. I don't want their innocence ruined because of me being me.]"

"[Well, good luck with that, my promiscuous partner,]" he responded.

She clicked her tongue with a grin. "[Says you, ya pervy penguin. Don't think I don't notice that huge frigging bulge in your feathers right now.]"

Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu glanced at him. Sure enough, the questions had somewhat affected the water-type, too. Not that he seemed to care.

"[Yes, so what? 'Tis only natural!]" he boasted, flippers to his hips while he displayed his notable bulge loud and proud.

"[ _Ewww, Pipluuuup!_ ]" Chimchar said, blushing heavily and covering his face. "[That's _so_ nasty.]"

Buizel groaned and looked away. "[Right. Good freaking lord, almost every single one of you is a pervert, I swear.]"

"[And apparently it's wearing pants on your head that's going too far...]" Ambipom mumbled snarkily, her face looking somewhat red.

Piplup's face went just as red. "[W-Well... that is _not_ natural. That is a sign that I've gone stark-raving mad.]"

Smiling impishly, Buneary pointed at him. "[Shaaame~]"

Piplup flailed around angrily. "[For Mew's frigging sake! I don't want the stupid, dumbass pants!]"

Ambipom hummed in disapproval. "[Using Lord Mew's name in vain, again? Oh, if _that_ ain't worth some double shame, I don't know what is.]" She pointed again. "[Sha-aa-aaaame~]"

Piplup melodramatically flailed even harder. "[Oh, I'll give _you_ some shame in a second! _Grrr!_ ]"

"[Heehee! Try it, boner bird!]" she taunted.

The others responded with amusement. Save for Buizel and Chimchar, anyway, who were still cringing to themselves.

"[Um, anyway...]" Pikachu said, catching everyone's attention, "[I guess that's it for mortifying me to death, then?]"

Ambipom snickered. "[Yeah, 'till next time. Good work, Pikachu!]"

He let out a breath. "[Oh, thank goodness... Freedom! At long last!]" He pouted. "[... I'd better get a good bottle of ketchup for going through this hell.]"

"[Hehe, oh yeah, don't worry, I won't forget,]" she replied with a wink. "[After all, a bet's a bet, bunny boy!]"

He huffed amusedly. "[A-Alright, great.]"

"[So, what're you gonna do now?]" Chimchar asked.

"[I'm gonna go and cool off before lunch. I think I need it after that assault on my poor dignity.]"

"[Right. Definitely,]" Buizel replied.

Pikachu nodded. Gasping in realization of something, he reached up to tap the paper between his ears. "[And I almost forgot... I've got tales to tell for all of ya, if you're interested. I think you'll like 'em!]"

Buneary beamed at him. "[Anything that comes out of your mouth is music to my bunny ears, so you _bet_ I'm interested!]"

Pikachu bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "[Oh, I'll bet...]"

"[Please do not let us down, my friend,]" Piplup said, apparently having recovered from his little moment. "[Your tales are exciting me already!]"

"[Apparently...!]" Ambipom retorted, lightly flicking his bulge with a hand on one of her tails. He yelped and shoved the hand away, though not without an air of playfulness.

"[But yeah, for now, I've got some relaxing to do, so I'm off,]" Pikachu said, waving towards everyone as he started walking elsewhere. "[Bye, guys!]"

Everyone gave him some parting words while waving back.

"[Lemmie know if you need any help relaxing~!]" Buneary called out to him, winking as she waved.

A part of him considered taking her up on that offer... at least, for company's sake, and not for whatever she was implying. However, after some brief contemplation, he decided not to. Fun as it might be, he needed some _actual_ relaxation, so... "[Eheh, we'll see!]" he replied jokingly.

Eventually, he went out of sight of them, leaving the campsite after a brief stop with Ash, to let him know where he was going. However, upon reaching the outskirts of a small forest... he soon realized that he had absolutely no plans for how he would relax. Maybe save for going for a stroll, or something.

He sighed to himself. Well, anything was more relaxing than what he'd just gone through, he supposed. Legends, how embarrassing... He wished he could have the same level of shamelessness as Buneary. That was fairly impossible, though. Nothing short of actually turning into her would allow anyone to come anywhere close.

Remembering Buneary, he was also reminded of how he'd blatantly told them about his fantasies. Ughh, why'd they have to ask him about those? They were supposed to be private. He was incredibly lucky the bunny in question hadn't heard about them, or else she may have been creeped out for the first time ever. By someone who wasn't that phione, anyway. The thought sent an unpleasant shiver up the mouse's spine.

He paused as he noticed how high his testosterone levels had climbed. Particularly in an awfully awkward place. It had started making him feel rather uncomfortable. Damn it, that stupid dare had affected him worse than he'd realized...

He groaned to himself. Well, that was his cue to find some cold body of water to 'cool' himself off. He didn't want the rest of his day to end up being awkward. Though... he wasn't expected to return for a while... and he _was_ in the woods, with plenty of hiding places to be found, so...

... Pikachu grinned to himself. Time to fire up the ol' fantasy machine again. Even if everyone knowing about it now made things vaguely awkward. But only vaguely.

After some quick searching, he slipped into an inconspicuous bush and got to work on his daydreaming. As an image of a certain rabbit covered in berry juices came to mind, he knew he was in for a very fun relaxation, indeed.

* * *

 **TO BE HONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 25/10 (October)/2017 (Happy birthday to me, I guess! :D)

 **Word count:** 9,260

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Oh, I can already see all the strange looks you guys are giving me for writing this garbage. Well, in my defense, if I'm gonna make this M-rated, I may as well have fun with it, right? Honhonhon!

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** She could've just gone into **his** pokéball,

(I'll bet she wants to go into his pokéball. Probably while he's inside it, too.)

 **#2:** 'Slowly shaking his head, and then **pushing the paper between piece of paper** he'd tucked behind his ear back in place,'

(If he's not careful, he'll get a paper cut, probably.)

 **#3:** "[There are many pink berries in the **word!]"**

(Piplup fails at English due to hunger.)

 **#4:** Piplup grinned proudly. "[Thank you, friend. Despite my **short comings,** it would be a cold day in Hell before my contests suffer, too.]"

('Shortcomings' is one word, so… is Piplup admitting to his little 'premature problem'?)

 **#5: '** Shaking his head exasperatedly, Pikachu shrugged and **poopped** it into his mouth.'

(Ew.)

 **#6:** A dire bitterness coursed through his tongue, making him spit it out immediately.

(He bit off his frigging tongue! D:)

 **#7:** 'Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu and Ambipom both glanced at **the monkey.** '

(Which monkey is Ambipom looking at? Is she looking in a mirror?)

 **#8:** 'Piplup's shoulder sagged.'

(But only one of them. He should go to a doctor.)

 **#9:** 'She had her faced scrunched up, as if in **concentrating.** '

(How does one end up in a concentrating? Unless he fell into one of those drinks that you need to dilute first.)

 **#10:** 'Buizel crossed his arms and tapped his **soot.** '

(Apparently, Buizel became a fire-type.)

 **#11:** 'Piplup tapped his foot, as if deep in **thinking.** '

(That should be thought. That's the second time I've made a mistake like this. Ugh. XD)

 **#12:** "[I don't think anyone has ever even given me a little flirt before, 'till she came **alone.** ]"

(You know it's a depressing fic when Buneary is forced to jizz alone...)

 **#13:** 'He noticed with a start that Buneary had come'

(Sounds very ominous. O,o "Oh no... Buneary has come! _Run!" D:_

 **#14:** 'leaving the campsite after a brief stop with Ash, to let him know he was going.'

(Makes it sound like Pikachu's leaving forever. "Alright, goodbye, Ash!" *'Pikachu's goodbye' plays*)

Ah well, that's all, folks! So tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Tales...?_


	5. The Interest That Was Piqued

**Chapter 5:** _The Interest That Was Piqued_

* * *

"[... Really? _That's_ why you don't wanna evolve?]" Buneary asked incredulously.

"[That is correct, Buneary,]" Piplup replied, looking proud of himself as always. "[If I stay as a piplup, then I shall forever remember the first time me and Dawn laid eyes on each other.]" He blinked. "[... Platonically.]"

She huffed in amusement and shrugged sassily. "[... That's pretty dumb, no offense,]" she replied.

Piplup huffed loudly. "[What? It is _not_ dumb to have a little sentimentality in your life.]"

Ambipom also gave a sassy shrug. "[I remember all my times with Ash and Dawn just fine, and _I_ evolved.]"

"[... Well... I suppose it must be nice for some!]" Piplup retorted grumpily.

"[Just sayin'! It's not like you get hit with a memory reset button, or anything. Like Pikachu apparently did.]"

Piplup huffed again. "[Either way, it is settled. Even though I have shown signs of evolving, I shall not give into my urges! Lest destiny requires me to.]"

She sighed. "[Suit yourself, bro.]"

Rolling her eyes lightly, Buneary looked off to the side, towards the ongoing battle, while they relaxed. For old times' sake, Ash had let Dawn borrow Buizel, so that she could battle against Ash and Chimchar for one fight. From where Buneary was sitting, it looked pretty heated, though the monkey seemed less than pleased to be fighting against a water-type.

Buneary hummed in thought as something came to mind. "[Guess I know what you mean, though, Piplup. I don't wanna evolve, either,]" she said. "[Even if lopunny _are_ pretty sexy.]"

"[Yeah, your species gets pretty big, don't it?]" Ambipom asked.

Buneary nodded. "[Yup.]"

"[Indeed,]" Piplup replied. "[Let me guess. A size too large for a date with Pikachu?]"

She grinned and nodded again. "[Heehee, yup. Wouldn't wanna disappoint ol' hot and hunky!]" Even if being a lopunny would certainly give him things to… think about.

"[Hah! Sounds about right for you,]" Ambipom replied. "[Don't want any hotdogs down any hallways, now.]"

Buneary giggled. "[Heck no!]"

After a brief chuckle of his own, Piplup looked intrigued. "[Hmm... though one does wonder. What stopped you from evolving _before_ meeting the apparent love of your life?]"

She paused for a while, wondering what to say. Eventually, she just shrugged. "[... Guess I just never found the right opportunity.]"

"[Huh, okay then. Do you perhaps need something specific to evolve?]"

"[Something like that, yeah. Whatever it was, though, I guess I never... hit the right requirement.]" She paused before smiling. "[But yeah, who cares? Gotta stay at the perfect mouse-snuggling size, amirite?]"

The others snickered.

"[You really never let up for a second, do ya?]" Ambipom joked, rubbing her on the head with a tail's finger.

"[Nope~]" Buneary chimed with a wink.

More snickering followed, until Piplup made a surprised yelp.

"[Oh, lord...]" he said, holding up a piece of paper. "[Pikachu forgot to bring his sketch along with him.]"

"[Huh? Sketch?]" Buneary replied, head tilted.

"[Yes, of him and his celebi friend. He must've dropped it before going away.]" He held the paper open. "[Behold for yourself.]"

Buneary blinked. "[... Huh. When was... _that_ drawn?]"

"[He never mentioned.]"

"[It's been around longer than _I've_ been on the team,]" Ambipom interjected. "[I can tell ya that much.]"

"[Oh, well... alright, then,]" Buneary replied. She took the paper as Piplup handed it over. "[A long time, then. You being Pikachu's oldest friend here, 'n' all.]"

"[Considering that celebi are well known for appearing in Johto...]" Piplup started, "[it must've been about a couple of years after he'd met Ash. I assume, anyway.]"

She nodded and studied the picture some more. Honestly, she was quite interested. It certainly _was_ Pikachu who was sleeping soundly against the celebi. That handsome face was pretty much one of a kind.

The two of them on the picture looked so at peace that Buneary was honestly slightly jealous. Not that she sensed that anything romantic was going on at all in the picture. But still, they did seem awfully at ease. Maybe even more so than the time Buneary had snuggled next to the mouse for the night.

… She continued to gaze at it, several thoughts filling her mind.

"[Um... is everything okay, my ally?]" Piplup asked suddenly, making her jump. "[You've been staring at that picture for a while.]"

"[Yeah, you good?]" Ambipom asked, looking slightly concerned.

Shaking her head, Buneary smiled at them. "[Ah, yup! All's well.]" She pouted. "[... Maybe except for the lack of _me_ in this picture.]"

The others chuckled.

Ambipom smirked at her. "[Hey, maybe one day, Ash'll ask whoever drew that one to sketch up another one for ya. One with _you_ sleeping next to Pikachu.]"

"[Or perhaps sleeping _with_ Pikachu...]" Piplup mumbled, earning some giggles.

"[Either one's fine with me!]" Buneary replied with a wink.

"[Oh, I'll bet...]" Ambipom replied. "[Anyway, I guess we'd better go and give it back-]"

A flash of light from the battlefield, followed by a loud flaming whoosh, suddenly caught everyone's attention. Looking over, Buneary saw Chimchar giving a battle cry, his backside giving off a far fiercer flame than usual. Steam poured off him, maybe because of a water attack from Buizel.

"[Holy legends...]" Piplup muttered, also looking towards the battle. "[Buizel triggered Chimchar's Blaze ability! The one that always makes him go into a _feral_ state!]"

"[Uh oh...]" Ambipom mumbled. "[I don't think he can control it yet, can he?]"

"[Nope...]" Buneary replied. She noted Ash's concerned frown. "[Sure hope Ash knows what he's doing with letting _this_ go on.]"

Buizel took some cautious steps back, clearly intimidated. Before Dawn could call out an order to the weasel, Chimchar lunged forwards, teeth at the ready.

As Buizel dodged, Ambipom's eyes lit up in intrigue. "[Welp,]" she started, "[if nothing else, things look like they're gonna get interesting! Wanna get a better seat to watch it, guys?]"

"[Without a doubt, my girl!]" Piplup chimed, running closer to the action.

Buneary huffed lightly. "[Guess giving Pikachu his picture back's out of the question, then, eh?]"

"[Hey, _you_ can do it if you're not up for watching some chaos,]" Ambipom replied. "[Heck, I'll bet he'll like it better if you go up to him alone.]"

Buneary hummed in thought. "[Well... guess you've got me there! Certainly beats watching Chimchar try to tear off Buizel's head.]"

Nodding, Ambipom began running towards where Piplup had sat down. "[Suit yourself!]"

Exhaling in amusement, Buneary rolled the picture up and trapped it under her ear folds. Well, whatever worked! Besides, any time with Pikachu was a good time!

Hopping over the weirdly-shaped rock on the ground, she wandered towards the general direction Pikachu had gone off in. She wondered if he would be pleased to see her or not. She assumed so, because he considered her a friend, if nothing else. A hot friend, too, apparently, which she couldn't complain about. She guessed…

* * *

Reaching the outskirts of a nearby forest after a minute or so, Buneary took a deep breath. The air was so fresh and filled with flowery aromas, as you'd expect on a Spring day. Honestly, if she wasn't on an errand right now, she'd be tempted to just laze around and take in the nature around her. Heck, if she found Pikachu, maybe she'd do just that. If it didn't bother him too much, anyway…

Sighing lightly, she unraveled her ear. Taking hold of Pikachu's picture, she closed her eyes. The sounds of the forest soon flowed through her sensitive ears, emptying out her mind and leaving her at peace. It was the least she could do to enjoy the joys of Spring.

She could hear the wind brushing against the leaves. She could hear water flowing down a stream somewhere. She could hear some distant bird songs floating on the air. She could hear... breathing? No, it was… more like panting. Almost like someone had run a marathon.

Focusing some more, she recognized the voice. Pikachu…? Huh, so much for relaxing. Had he gone for a sprint, or something?

She smiled. Heck yeah, two birds with one stone! Giving Pikachu his picture back, _and_ helping him catch his breath. Most likely with Ice Beam, or by using Bounce and holding her wind-covered foot next to his face, or something. Humming happily, she rolled her ear up again with the picture tucked inside and bounded into the forest.

Moving toward the direction she'd heard him in, she eventually reached an inconspicuous bush. She listened out again and heard some quiet mumbling coming from inside. Yup, he was certainly here.

She smirked impishly. Time to make a grand entrance! She took a few experimental hops on the spot before leaping upwards into the air. With a front flip, she posed as she fell. "[Aha! So _this_ is where you-]"

He squealed loudly, his once closed eyes snapping open.

She stared blankly at him as she landed. He was sitting against the tree… fully exposed… with a paw in quite the compromising position. "[ … Y-You, um…]" she mumbled.

His breathing somehow grew more frantic than before as he stared at her in horror. "[B-Buneary, I- Ah, n-no, oh c-crap…!]" he started, groaning loudly as he… finished. Climatically, at that.

She continued to stare at him. Whether in disbelief or something else, she wasn't entirely sure. Welp…

Head lowered towards what was now probably his shame, he gave a long drawn-out sigh. "[… Damn it,]" he grumbled, covering himself with his paws with noticable difficulty. "[… H-H-Hi…]"

She continued to stare some more, her face growing considerably warmer. Eventually, however, a reaction reached her. She laughed, doubling over in heavy giggles.

"[… Huh?]" he mumbled out. Glancing at him, she saw him giving her a very confused look, his face incredibly red. He deflated in embarrassment when she made eye contact with him, though.

Wiping a tear away, she smirked cheekily. "[Well… I _did_ think all the panting you did was from exercising too hard… but you know what? I guess I wasn't too far off the mark, eh?]"

He groaned again, though not without a faint smile. "[… Shut up.]"

She giggled again before angling away. "[So, um… want me to leave you alone to… clean up, or something?]"

He paused a while before exhaling heavily. "[If… i-if you want, but… well, I've already hit rock bottom, now, so whatever…]"

She murmured curiously. "[So… that's a 'stay', then?]"

"[Yeah, yeah, sure…]" His face went redder still. "[After all, I'll bet you're not frigging complaining…]" he finished, basically mumbling his words out.

She hummed happily. "[Well… you ain't wrong! Um…]" She turned away to the side. "[I'll… give you a _little_ privacy, though. As nice a surprise as this is, I'd better not ruin it by giving you a heart attack.]"

He huffed lightly. "[Thanks…]"

Smiling, she stayed put for a short while. Notably, there were no sounds of shuffling or anything, as if he just stayed sitting in place. Briefly glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw him wearily looking himself over, almost as if deciding what to do. Eventually he, incredibly sheepishly, tore some leaves off the bush and scraped himself off with them.

Her smile growing into a smirk again, she walked over to the tree, glancing away from him. "[So, um… hope you had a good _fantasy,_ if nothing else.]"

He gasped loudly. "[ _W-What!? What do you mean fantasy!?_ ]" he exclaimed.

"[Ah, well, y'know… something that helps get the sparks flying, from what I hear,]" she replied, giving him a side grin.

He covered his face with his paws. Notably, his excitement had rapidly died down, laying limp against its exposed cushion. She wondered In amusement if it matched his self-esteem at this point. "[… And where'd you hear that?]" he grumbled.

She giggled again. "[Remember when I said I had no idea what you guys meant by hearing things? Well… got'cha~!]"

Making another displeased noise, he sunk lower against the grass, almost laying completely down. "[… Shit.]" He sighed. "[Well… the secret's out. Drat it all…]" He uncovered his downtrodden-looking face. "[… I'll bet you think I'm the biggest creepster on the planet, now.]"

She huffed in amusement, looking away again. She sat down against the same tree he was against. "[Oh, hardly.]" Her face warmed. "[Heck, I'm flattered you think I'm hot enough to fap to. So hot, in fact, that you even went straight back to doing it right after telling everyone, too~! So daring.]"

He paused, making a noise of surprise. After a short while, he exhaled through his nose. "[… Well, I didn't wanna, but the… 'feeling' was annoying me, so…]"

"[Hee, I'll bet!]"

He paused again. Soon after, he pushed himself back up into a seated position. "[… Really, though? You don't… think it's creepy?]"

She shrugged, glancing over again. He shyly covered up, but he loosened up slightly when he seemed to notice that she was looking him in the face. "[Not really. Hey, I mean… _I've_ done it before, too.]"

The blush on his face increased. "[… Oh. Um… okay…]" A small chuckle escaped his lips. "[… T-To me, I'll bet.]"

"[Naturally! Buuuut… sometimes, I like to mix it up. Unlike you, apparently.]" Her face warmed slightly. "[… Can't say I've used my imagination _quite_ as much as you, either.]"

He groaned again, looking away. "[… Alright, how much of that did you hear?]"

"[Woke up at the fantasy of you saving me from the evil flying-type with one thing on its mind. Thought it was just a dream you had at first, but… heh, not quite, eh?]"

He gave a drawn-out huff. "[… Fabulous.]" He began to sigh again before stopping, his ears pricking. "[Wait, you 'mix it up'?]" he asked, looking over.

She tapped her paws together sheepishly. "[… Did I ever tell you that Buizel's the hottest member of the team?]"

His eyes widened. "[W-What? Really? Buizel?]"

Her face warmed some more. "[… Those muscles, though. And the thought of him pushing me down. The best, man~]"

He stared at her for a while. Eventually, he crossed his arms and grumbled loudly. "[… Buizel, of all people! And here I thought you said _I_ was the hot one,]" he responded, barely holding back a smirk.

She laughed and winked at him. "[Hey, don't get me wrong! You're a close second~]"

"[… Hmph. Well, I'll take it, I guess,]" he said, his smirk now completely evident. It fell away sheepishly. "[Really, though, you… don't think it's…?]"

She shrugged. "[Hey… there's only one criticism I've got.]"

He looked slightly concerned. "[H-Huh?]"

She pointed at his little problem, which seemed to be getting into the spirit of things again. "[… You'd better not waste too much of that stuff, you hear me?]"

He blinked. "[… Huh?]"

"[Don't want the well to run dry.]" She winked. "[We'll need some to make our firstborn, won't we?]"

He recoiled slightly in surprise. Afterwards, he laughed for a short while before groaning and shaking his head. "[Ohh… I'll freaking bet...]"

She laughed along with him for a while, until things grew quiet again. As something came to mind, though, she tentatively bit her lip. "[… Um. Eheh. Just… kidding, though, of course.]"

He tilted his head. "[Huh?]"

"[Heh. Well… j-just sayin'.]"

"[… Well… I guess I… kinda guessed you were, but alright.]"

She hummed pleasantly. "[Alright, cool! Um, b-but yeah…]" Noticing that he hadn't made himself decent yet, she tilted her own head at him. "[Any reason you haven't put that away yet, banana pants?]"

His blush returned again. "[… I like to let it settle first.]" He rolled his eyes. "[… Really, though? Banana pants?]"

"[Haha, yeah! Seriously, how do you store all that away?]"

"[… With quite a bit of tucking,]" he mumbled, grinning sheepishly.

"[Looks like it, Tyrannosaurus Erex.]"

He rolled his eyes again and lightly punched her arm, his grin growing slightly. "[… Quiet, you.]"

She giggled again. After that, they both sat there in comfortable silence. Thanks to her joking about, he seemed a lot more at ease, despite being totally bare.

In fact… oh dear. The more she thought about the naked mouse she was next to, the more shallow her breaths got and the more warm her face felt. Not to mention the speed her heart was beating at right now. Dang… she hadn't thought about it much before, but this was actually really freaking hot.

She took a deep breath and turned her attention to nature again. Because of the leaves above them, she couldn't fully appreciate the feeling of the sun's rays against her fur… but the air still carried a pleasant warmth along that soothed her like a massage, almost. Closing her eyes, she once again took in the sounds of nature. The wind through the rustling leaves, the songs of the flying-types, the breathing of the mouse next to her… It all came together in a melody of relaxation.

"[Huh… you alright?]" Pikachu asked after a short while.

"[Yeah… I'm just relaxing,]" she replied. "[It's so peaceful out here.]"

"[Ah, okay then,]" he responded. "[Yeah… guess so.]" He paused for a little bit. "[… Honestly, before I… y'know… I _was_ actually gonna relax properly. Um, h-honest.]"

"[Heh, yeah, I believe ya. I do that sometimes, too.]"

"[Oh cool, you do?]"

"[Yeah! I just like to lie back, close my eyes, and… take in everything.]" She smiled lightly. "[… It was something I did loads back before joining you guys. Just me alone with nature.]"

"[Huh… neat. I'll bet you're an expert relaxer, then, huh?]"

Her smile grew. "[You bet. Warmth against my fur… listening to the sounds of nature… smelling all the fresh smells… It's like living in some kind of dream, y'know? Clearing my mind by engrossing myself in bliss…]"

"[… Heh, gosh. You're so poetic, you know that?]"

"[Hee, being friends with Piplup has its perks~]"

"[You say that when I can't even _remember_ half the words he uses…]" he replied in amusement.

"[Maybe I'm just naturally gifted, then!]"

He hummed happily. "[Maybe. Maybe.]" After a short while, he began to shuffle about. Most likely cleaning up properly, finally. "[Oh hey, y'know… I never praised you for the battle.]"

"[The battle? What did I do?]" She grinned. "[Did I impress ya out there?]"

"[Heh, you sure did! Especially near the end…]"

Eyes still closed, she raised an eyebrow. "[Eh? What did I do?]"

"[Well, it lost me the bet that got me to talk about you in the first place, but… I think what you did for lil' Pachirisu was really cool. Diving in the way of that attack meant for him…]"

Hearing that made something warm stir inside her heart. "[Oh, well… y'know, it was nothing, really.]"

"[No way, it was real selfless! Why'd you do that, though?]"

"[… Well… I like to keep my friends safe, y'know? Especially that little tyke.]" She smiled warmly. "[He's like a little kid brother to me, so I just want what's best for him.]"

"[D'aww…]" Pikachu replied, actually sounding touched. "[Well… he really looks up to you, and it's pretty obvious why. You're the best role model.]"

She giggled lightly, her face flushing something fierce. Wow… that was such an earnest compliment. "[Oh, um… g-gosh, thanks…]" she replied, pulling her fluff up to her face. She almost opened her eyes, too, but she refrained.

"[Man, you always get so bashful whenever I compliment you, huh?]" he said in amusement.

"[Well… girls like praise, what can I say? Heehee~]"

"[So I see,]" he chimed. He shuffled around even more. After a short while, he huffed in satisfaction. "[Okay, I'm, er… 'decent', I guess.]"

Opening her eyes and letting go of her fluff, she saw him sitting against the tree and facing her with a smile. Notably, his personal treasures were gone from sight, replaced with the smoothed-out patch of fur that hid everything. It was almost as if nothing had ever been there at all.

"[… Seriously, how do you manage that?]" she responded, honestly still impressed.

He smiled sheepishly. "[Well… I'm just lucky that pokémon fur can magically do that, I guess. I'd be a bit boned without it.]"

"[No kidding!]" She paused. "[… Makes me wonder how the fur-less pokémon manage it.]"

He blinked. "[… Hey, good point. In fact… Ambipom doesn't have anything there, does she?]"

She gasped. "[Hey, no, she doesn't! No fur, scales or feathers… no nothing! What the heck?]" She batted her paw into her other one. "[Hey, and didn't you make her uncover her butthole for a dare that one time?]"

"[Yeah… I didn't think about it at the time, but… it's weird, ain't it?]" He shrugged. "[Well… guess it'll be a mystery for the ages, huh?]"

She shook her head. "[No, screw that. I'm gonna ask her later tonight.]"

He chuckled. "[Well… you're an expert at making awkward things less awkward, so go for it.]"

She grinned. "['Tis an acquired skill!]"

"[Heh, no kidding…]" He pointed at Buneary's waist. "[Either way, I'll bet you feel real lucky with that thing around ya, huh?]"

She looked down at her fluff and then back at him, smirking. "[Well… makes it hard to do 'certain things', but you ain't wrong. Sure stops the onlookers.]" She hopped up to her feet and faced away from him, posing sexily with an arched back. "[Bet that don't stop you from peeking, though, eh~?]" she said, winking back at him.

He spluttered flusteredly. "[W-Well, you, um…]" He paused briefly. "[… The tail doesn't leave _too_ much to the… imagination, really.]"

Giggling, she wiggled her rump, earning an embarrassed gulp from him. "[I'll _bet_ it doesn't, handsome~]"

Coughing, he stood up. "[A-Anyway, ya imp. We should… um, go back to the others, or something.]"

She turned to face him. Noting his red face, she beamed. "[Good idea.]"

He sheepishly smiled back. His eyes widened slightly upon looking at her ears. "[Hey… is that my picture?]"

She yelped lightly. "[Oh, right!]" She took it from her folded ear and handed it over. "[Special delivery~]"

Exhaling, he took it from her. "[Thanks. Man, I'm bad at keeping hold of this…]"

"[Apparently!]" She tilted her head. "[So… what's it about, anyway? She a friend of yours?]"

He tucked it under his arm. "[You could say that. I didn't know her for very long, but she was very fun. We were talking all night, so I guess we fell asleep at some point.]"

"[Huh... okay.]" She exhaled lightly. "[... You sure both looked like you were at ease.]"

"[Yeah... I guess so.]" He scratched his neck. "[It was strange, really. Even though a weird dream woke me up, I don't remember sleeping so well, since.]"

"[Heh... moreso than when you slept against me, I'll bet.]"

He blinked a few times. "[... Er... well, I was... _kind of_ at ease, that time.]"

She cocked her head curiously. "[Wait... really? But you seemed so on edge at first...]"

A blush formed on his face. "[... Well, let's... just say that I'm not used to having girls wrapped around me at night.]"

She blinked. After some thought, she made an 'o' shape with her mouth. "[Riiight, I should've known.]" She smirked. "[You were packing an _epic_ hard-on all night, weren't you?]"

His blush grew bigger. "[… A-Alright, you caught me. I, um… yeah. I enjoyed myself.]"

She gave a pleased hum. "[Well, glad you got _something_ out of it.]" She winked. "[Next time you want even more sweet dreams, maybe we should have another sleep-over sometime, eh?]"

He grinned sheepishly. "[Heh, w-we'll see.]" He gestured towards the direction of camp. "[Anyway, shall we get going? I get the feeling food'll be ready by the time we get back, and I'm real excited to talk about the picture to everyone.]"

She beamed at him. "[Sure. Lead the way!]"

He smiled back. "[Alright!]"

They both began to walk back to camp. After a short while, she sidled closer to him and held his paw.

He acted surprised at first, though, with an exasperated sigh, he went back to smiling and walking again, paw in paw.

She didn't fully know what to take from the reaction… but he seemed happy enough, so she was content.

To break the silence, Buneary decided to chat. "[Say, Ash and Dawn were battling before I left.]"

"[Huh? Who with?]" he asked.

"[Ash has Chimchar and Dawn borrowed Buizel.]"

"[Oh, neat! How'd that go?]"

"[Hm… last I saw, Chimchar was beaten up enough to go full on Blaze.]"

His face fell in worry. "[Uh oh… that still makes him go off the deep end, doesn't it?]"

"[Mmhm. He lunged towards Buizel like a man possessed. Thankfully, I left before things got messy, though.]"

"[Yeah... I like a good, brutal battle as much as the next guy, but that's... a bit much. It's no good when it goes from 'having fun' to _primal rage_.]"

"[Totally. Then it's just scary...]" she replied, nuzzling into his arm.

He stalled for a second before nodding. "[... Guess so.]"

They continued onwards quietly for a short while. Noting that he wasn't pulling away awkwardly like the last time she'd gotten close, she sighed in content.

After a minute or so, she looked up at him. "[Hey.]"

He looked back. "[Y-Yeah?]"

She gave him a cutesy look. "[If Chimchar went feral and came after me… would you be my big knight in shining armor and save me?]"

He chuckled. "[You kidding? I mean, I'd want to… but by the time I'd gotten close, you'd have beaten him silly. Heck, I'd probably have to save _him!_ ]"

She giggled before clicking her tongue and frowning at him. "[Wazzat supposed to mean? You make _me_ sound like the feral!]"

He pulled an impish look. "[ _Wellll…!_ ]"

Huffing indignantly, she pouted and lightly shoved him. "[Welp, that's it, you ruined it. Crush over.]"

He laughed in response. As she held her irritated look, however, he began to look worried. "[… Um… you, er… y-you're kidding, right?]"

She continued to frown at him before cracking up in sniggers. "[Well yeah, duh.]" She beamed at him. "[This crush is uncrushable, don't you worry~]"

Exhaling slowly, he pouted himself. "[… Lucky me,]" he replied in an amused tone.

Smile growing, she gripped onto his arm again as he led her back to camp. As their conversation continued, the smile refused to leave her face.

* * *

"Oh, _there_ you guys are!" Ash called out, waving out towards Pikachu and Buneary.

They both happily waved back as they came closer to camp, still holding paws.

"Where'd you get off to? Ya missed all the excitement!" Ash said as they got close enough. "And more importantly... food's almost ready! You should _never_ miss food."

"Now, Ash, come on!" Dawn replied. She gave Pikachu and Buneary an utterly adoring look. "Our two little lovebirds were having a _daaate~!_ "

Eyes widening, Pikachu quickly let go of Buneary's paw and shook his own defensively. Buneary simply sighed and shrugged in amusement.

"Ohhh no," Dawn chided in a bubbly manner, "you can't get it past me, Pikachu! I know love when I see it!"

Ash scratched the back of his cap. "C'mon, Dawn, that's a bit much, ain't it?"

Brock suddenly appeared from behind Dawn. "It's never a bit too much when it comes to love, Ash," he said, sagely.

"I know, right?" Dawn responded in glee.

He nodded in agreement before looking directly at Pikachu and Buneary. "And on that note... "

"... Umm... uh oh," Ash mumbled.

"[... Very uh oh,]" Pikachu added.

Brock kneeled down and grabbed both of Buneary's paws, surprising her. He had a very starry look in his squinted eyes. " _Bunearyyy!_ You have to tell me how the date went with _Pikachuuuu!_ " he exclaimed sappily.

Dawn kneeled down and gripped Pikachu's paws, making him yelp. "Pikachu, you tell me how it went, too, won't'cha?"

"[U-Umm...]" Pikachu muttered, feeling his face going warm. Somehow, he didn't really want to tell them the story that immediately came to mind.

"C'mon, guys, you're freaking Pikachu out," Ash said awkwardly.

The mouse chuckled sheepishly. "[Yeah. J-Just a bit...]"

"But _Ash...!_ " Brock cried. "This thing is serious! We have to know as much as possible."

Ash crossed his arms. "Ain't that what you said when that phione was here last week, too?"

Brock and Dawn blinked. Pikachu simply exhaled through his nose. Glancing to the side, he saw Buneary exasperatedly rolling her eyes. Oh, as if they needed to be reminded of that jerk, Phione. Attacking the mouse and his friends just so he could flirt heavily with Buneary. It'd made Pikachu's blood boil. Especially when the sea slug had fought for Buneary's paw in marriage. An odd thought, because pokémon didn't usually get married, but it had secretly irked the mouse all the same.

Recovering, Brock let go of Buneary to dramatically ball a fist. "I just want to see some love, Ash! Is that such a crime!?"

"Sounds like you don't really care about Pikachu and Buneary doing the dating," Ash said with a shrug.

"Who died and made _you_ a love doctor, Ash?" Dawn replied sassily. "Of course we do! It's just... y'know... love is important from _all_ angles!"

"Besides," Brock continued, "it's taking forever for Pikachu and Buneary's love to blossom! So we have to take what we can get before it's too late!"

Buneary huffed and put her paws on her hips. "[Hey, what's that supposed to mean?]"

He stalled. "Er... not that it _will_ be too late! Ever!"

She huffed again, in a drawn-out way this time.

"Yeah, well..." Ash interjected, picking Pikachu up by the waist and taking him away from Dawn. "Don't embarrass Pikachu with all that dumb love stuff!" he said, placing him onto his shoulder.

" _But Ash...!_ " Dawn and Brock both whined.

"[Alright, you guys...]" Buneary called out, catching everyone's attention. "[If you quit pestering these two, then I'll tell ya whatever you wanna know!]"

Apparently sensing her willingness to talk, both humans gleefully swarmed around her.

"Oh, you'll tell us, Buneary?" Dawn asked, starry-eyed.

Somewhat hesitantly, the rabbit nodded. "[I-I… guess…? I dunno how, but-]"

Making adoring noises, both humans managed to pick Buneary up at once and began to parade away with her, each with one hand. Much to her exasperation.

"So, Buneary, how was it?" Dawn started excitedly. "Was there hugging? Or kissing? Or…" She gasped. "Something _more!?_ "

"[Err…]" Buneary started.

Brock also gasped. "You're right, Dawn!" He suddenly looked very determined. "Quickly, get your egg checker app ready! I think there's a bun in Buneary's oven!"

She immediately began to fumble around with her watch, despite carrying Buneary. "I'm on it, Brock! Oh _dear,_ this is so _exciting!_ " she chimed, barely avoiding bumping into a small tree as she went away.

They wandered off to a different part of camp, getting different odd looks as they passed by the pokémon. Pikachu and Ash could only stare after them.

"… Sure hope Brock's keeping an eye on the food," Ash mumbled, a hand on his hip.

"[Somehow, I doubt it…]" Pikachu muttered. He yelped when his Celebi picture slipped off his head and drifted towards the floor. Man, how many times had that freaking happened today, anyway?

Briefly tilting his head, Ash slowly bent down. "Huh? What's this?" Picking it up and unraveling it to get a look, his eyes lit up. "Oh, hey, it's the picture Sammy drew! Did this blow outta my bag, or something?"

Pikachu nodded. "[Sure did!]" He gave his trainer a slightly stern look. "[You've gotta zip that thing up better.]"

Seeing his look, Ash chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right. Sorry, buddy."

Pikachu sighed lightly in an amused way. "[It's all good.]"

Smiling, Ash looked back down at the picture contemplatively. "Man, it brings me back, though. Feels like it's been _forever_ since we saw Sammy and Celebi."

Pikachu nodded again. "[No kidding. It's been, like…]" He held up a few fingers for his trainer to see. "[Three years or something, right?]"

Ash looked at the fingers and gasped lightly. "Hey, you're right! Man, time flies, huh?" He paused. "… As well as drags, I guess."

Pikachu laughed. "[Well… at least it's not as bad as it probably is for Sammy, I guess.]"

Ash chuckled. "If you're saying the same thing that I'm thinking about Sammy… yeah." He looked down at the picture again. "A whole forty-three years… I wonder how Sammy and Celebi have been holdin' up that whole time?"

"[Who knows?]" Pikachu replied with a shrug. "[Hope they've been alright, anyway...]"

"Yeah, me too, buddy. Me too…" Ash continued to nostalgically gaze at the picture, along with Pikachu. Eventually, with a shake of the head, his trainer rolled the picture up and handed it back to Pikachu. "Ah well. C'mon, let's get going! Food ain't gonna take long!" He pulled a look. "S'long as Brock hasn't forgotten it, anyway."

Pikachu tightly tucked the picture behind his ear before nodding energetically. "[Yeah, lead the way!]"

With that, Ash set off towards the others, Pikachu still sitting comfortably on his shoulder. Notably, Dawn and Brock still seemed to be pestering Buneary more than what was healthy, much to her exasperation.

Rolling his eyes, Pikachu stared up at the sky. Sammy and Celebi… he couldn't help but wonder if they remembered him and Ash. Oh, and Brock, too, come to think of it. He'd been around during that debacle as well, along with Misty, hadn't he?

On that note… he began to plan exactly what he'd say to his friends once lunch time rolled around. _If_ it rolled around…

* * *

 _Yawning, the pokémon sleepily drifted on the wind, looking down towards the grassy lands far below. Man, she wished she could've slept for a little longer before coming out here... but it couldn't be helped. She had important business here! She had to find something. She couldn't remember what, exactly, but she had to find it. She just **had** to! Her butt depended on it! ... But maybe not literally. Thankfully._

 _There was no stress about it, though. Not with such pleasant weather! It was so sunny, and the breeze surrounding her carried a warmth that she couldn't exactly complain about. Not without sounding like a total Debbie Downer, anyway._

 _She flew around some more, eyes darting across the plains. Eventually, her eyes were drawn to a large dip in the Earth. Fluttering above... she saw it. Right at the foot of the dip was the thing she'd been looking for. A special treasure, hidden amongst some ordinary ones._

 _A part of her was confused, though. The special treasure was a little strangely shaped, not to mention an odd color... but whatever. Treasure was treasure! Especially **this** treasure!_

 _She slowly drifted towards it, arms outstretched. She halted when she heard a noise from the side, though. Huh? Looking up, she saw something that made her screech. A giant, noisy flying thing that had appeared from nowhere. It hovered somewhat closely, and it creeped her out something fierce._

 _Something on the flying thing's side slowly stirred. She floated upwards to get a better look. When she did, it attacked suddenly. She barely dodged to the side as something bright whizzed by. When it rapidly fired more attacks, she panicked and began to dart about the sky. She zipped past the many attacks that had been fired her way._

 _Heart racing in terror, she raced away, instinct taking over. Her blood ran cold when she realized something horrible she'd just done. No! The treasure! No matter what, she couldn't leave it!_

 _Breathing and swallowing heavily, she swerved downwards, making a u-turn. Coming close to the place she'd fled from, she gasped sharply when an attack barely grazed her foot. She was relieved to find that it hadn't hurt, but... She gasped again. She couldn't move it! She couldn't move her foot! She couldn't even wiggle the tip of it!_

 _Weighed down by her now-solid foot, she felt the corners of her eyes sting with tears. Taking a breath, she bit her lip and dived downwards, avoiding another attack. She was so terrified, she could barely think straight... but she would never leave her treasure behind._

 _Wings straining to the point that it stung, she swooped down like an eagle towards the large dip. It was directly below that flying thing, but she didn't care. She flew under it anyway and went straight down, towards the brightly glowing treasure. Although she still had quite a distance to go, she was filled with a strange sense of relief at the very sight of it._

 _Briefly glancing upwards, she saw something that made her eyes widen and every inch of her body feel cold. A different kind of attack, much larger than the ones before, was in freefall straight above her. Oh no, no, no... She would **never** escape like this! _

_... She had one idea. It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but it **had** to work!_

 _While she dove, she gathered up as much energy as she could manage. It flowed through her, filling every vein in her body. Her instincts were **screaming** at her to unleash that energy as soon as possible... but she forced herself to hold off on it. There was no chance in Hell she would abandon things now._

 _She went faster and faster before sharply skidding to a halt. She lightly hit the ground because of her added weight, but she didn't dwell on it. She just lunged forwards and wrapped her arms around the treasure. Tears leaked out of her eyes at the warmth she felt at its touch, but she couldn't dwell on that, either. It was time to go!_

 _At once, she unleashed all the energy she had, causing the lands around her to glow with a bright rainbow of color. She grinned at the success, until an excruciating pain ripped through her, making her scream. The glowing colors surrounding her began to flash rapidly instead, going brighter and brighter, until..._

* * *

Screaming, the pokémon lurched upwards. Panting heavily, she glanced around. Trees...? Greenery...? Sunlight...? Nobody attacking?

Taking a deep breath, she slowly lay her head back against the tree branch she'd been sleeping on. Oh... it'd been just a dream. Just a dream... Jeez... Alright, not 'just a dream'. That'd been freaking _scary!_ She was surprised she hadn't peed herself in her sleep.

Wiping away pools of sweat that had gathered on her forehead, she wondered about that dream. What had _that_ been about? It'd started so well, too. She'd been invited to a big lunch by all the pokémon in the forest she'd been born in... and then something, something, treasure... and then something, something, horrible things.

It hadn't felt like an ordinary nightmare, though. It'd felt... odd. So odd. Still, it beat the fever dreams she would usually get on the same day something awful was about to happen, so whatever. It was just a weird dream, so she wouldn't think about it too much.

She looked up towards the pink sky. Seeing how dim the sunlight breaking through the leaves above her was, the pokémon shrugged. Well, time to sleep again, she guessed.

Producing another pillow of leaves and laying her head down on it, she closed her eyes again. She nestled into a comfortable sleeping position, one even better than the last one, much to her delight.

As she felt her consciousness dip, she saw it again. The horrible flying thing and the hole that had opened up in the side of it, revealing something that was truly hateful.

At that exact moment, her eyes snapped open wide again. Blinking a few times, she blew a raspberry. "[Nope, screw that. Breakfast time,]" she mumbled. With that, she rolled off the tree branch and fluttered her wings to hover in place. As the leaves she'd produced scattered down around her, tickling her antennae, she began to fly away. She went off towards that bush filled with cranberries she'd found the other day.

Yawning while rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she rapidly moved through the air. Weaving in-between a few trees here and there, she soon found the bush of delicious cranberry trea- What. What!? Where the hell _were_ they? The entire bush was empty! What the heck!?

She found herself on the verge of tears. Who could've done this? Who was horrible enough to just eat _all_ of them!? She had half a mind to... um...

She stared blankly. Oh yeah, she'd eaten them all herself last night, just before bed. She rubbed the back of her head, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. Whoops. Maybe she should've thought that through.

She sighed. Oh well. Maybe there were some normal berries lying around. Like, a nice mint berry, or something. Those were good for waking up with, too, so whatever worked. She just hoped that nobody else wanted those cranberries. She would feel a bit guilty if she found out that she'd taken that amazing pleasure away from them. Oh well.

As she fluttered around the trees, glancing around for mint berry bushes, she wondered what she would do for the day. She had plans to go meet her friend Sammy again later on, but... well, if she did that now, she would just wake him up and tick him off. So, obviously, she had to pass the time, somehow.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of her beloved cranberries. Grumbling louder than her belly, she tried to think of something else. Like... the dream? She didn't really want to think of it again, but it was either that or something depressing. Like the loss of her cranberries.

She replayed the events of the dream in her head, making sure to leave the scary parts out. One of the things about it that interested her the most was that 'special treasure'. What would be special enough for her to backtrack towards certain death? Not even cranberries were worth that hassle.

She suddenly remembered something. Oh yeah! She'd had the dream before, actually! At least, the part up until she'd found the treasure. She'd woken up just before the flying thing had attacked, thank freaking heck.

In fact... she'd had Ash's little friend, Pikachu, to thank for that, didn't she? For whatever reason, he'd woken up during the night and stirred her out of the dream. After that, they'd gone to see some butterfree and other things flying up into the starry sky.

Nostalgia hit her right in the heart as she remembered that time. Man... how long had it been? Several years, at least. Maybe even more. It was hard to tell, considering that, technically, it hadn't even happened yet. Time travel was really confusing like that.

She smiled to herself. Maybe that's what she would do after breakfast. Go for a walk while daydreaming about those happy days. It would certainly get the bad taste of that crappy dream out of her mouth, if nothing else!

Spying a berry bush tucked away in the distance, the fairy sped up, licking her lips all the while. Before anything else, though... it was time to pig out! Though... maybe not as much as before. She didn't want to be known as Celebi the fatty berry stealer, after all...

... Alright, it was probably inevitable, but hey.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 13/12 (December)/2017

 **Word count:** 7,239

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** So yeah, I got the results of that there poll I posted! Because fanfic readers are generally allergic to polls, I only managed to get 9 results... but hey, 'tis something. XP Thanks to everyone who posted!

In case you're interested... here are the results!

 **1st!:** Yeah! (It'll spice up the story, so why not? Go for it!) = 3 votes! (33 percent!)

 **1st!:** *Unzips* (Make it a full-on lemon, ya dweeb!) = 3 votes! (33 percent!)

 **3rd:** Ehhh... (I'll still read the fic, but I'll skip over the scene, most likely.) = 1 vote! (11 percent!)

 **3rd:** A little. (I'm interested in how badly you'll screw it up, lol.) = 1 vote! (11 percent!)

 **3rd:** Hell yes! (I'm interested in the romantic potential it'll bring. Yes. Totally...) = 1 vote! (11 percent!)

 **Last:** AGHHHH! (Do it, and you'll be worse than Hitler!) = Nothing! (0 percent)

 **Last:** Hell no! (Keep it clean, for the love of God!) = Nothing! (0 percent)

 **Last:** Not really. (I'm worried it'll conflict with the cutesy-ness of the story.) = Nothing! (0 percent)

 **Last:** Whatever. (I couldn't care less.) = Nothing! (0 percent)

Well… with those results, I guess I have the go ahead to do it, huh? XD Be warned, though. I'm not gonna just make it your average lewd stuff. Like, I'll bet all of you are hoping for stuff like: "Ohh, Pikachu, your dong is so big, put it inside, big boy, lol" "Sure thing, Buneary. Ohhhh yesyeysyeysyeyeyyes ahhh so tight 'n' shit etc etc let us release semen together!" "I agree wholeheartedly! FFFFFFF!" Well, I _aiiiiin't_ havin' that shit, I can tell ya now! Not unless it's my Pirate Oshawott fic that I should continue some day.

On another note, I watched ravengal play Doki Doki Literature Club the other day, which was… interesting. One of the, um, 'characters' called Monika regularly gave out writing tips, which have inspired me. I shall shamelessly rip her off and post some writing tips of my own in these chapters (including the previous ones)! However, I'm no professional, and they'll inevitably be somewhat opinion based… so whether you follow them or not is up to you. Either way, it's all food for thought, right? :P

 **Fanfic tip #5 (Nobody likes longass sentences):** Have you ever read a sentence in a fic that used hundreds of commas, but took fifty years to give you a single full stop? Well, try reading that shit _aloud_ to yourself. You'll get out of breath! D: If you're writing sentences, and they start to look really long (especially if lots of intricate words have been used), it might be best to read 'em out loud and see how much your lungs hate you afterwards. (Heck, case in point, even the sentence I just wrote was kinda long! Practice reading _that_ one to yourself!)

How to shorten sentences, you ask? Well, it's easy enough. Instead of spamming commas constantly, just use full stops, or ellipses (that's a dotdotdot…), or - if you're confident enough to use them properly - semicolons in places that seem good to put them in. Sometimes, you may have to reword the sentence as a result… but trust me, it'll make the sentence look much tidier! And, if you're writing an action scene, it'll make things much easier to follow, too.

Example of shittiness: 'Senpai took his sword, which was glowing because of the power of the super jewels surrounding it, and drove it into the heart of the mega death beast, which screamed loudly and died in response, causing Senpai to give a happy cry, which his friends eagerly copied.'

How I'd fix it: 'Senpai grabbed his sword, which glowed because of the power of the super jewels surrounding it. He drove it into the heart of the mega death beast… which screamed loudly before dying. Senpai gave a happy cry, which his friends eagerly copied.'

Hope that helped with your writing, folks!

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** She huffed in amusement and **shrugged sassily.** "[... blahblahblah,]" she replied, **shrugging sassily.** '

(Her shoulders are gonna hit the frigging sky if she shrugs any more!)

 **#2:** 'Buneary looked off to the side towards the **ongoing** battle that was **going on** '

(I'm really going on about the ongoing battle that's really going on.)

 **#3:** 'She nearly exhaled through her nose, but she **topped** herself.'  
(This is a deleted scene... I think, but it was too amusing to ignore. XD Guess Buneary couldn't stand being blue balls'd anymore, so she did the only thing she knew how to do. Took both bottom _and_ top.)

 **#4:** "[Buizel triggered **Chumchar's** Blaze ability]"

(How insulting. XD Guess the Piplup x Chimchar ship ain't sailing here, eh?)

 **#5:** 'compared to watching Chimchar trying to **tea** off'

(Chimchar enjoys a strange mix of drinking a hot drink and playing golf.)

 **#6:** 'Deciding to try and clear her **heard,** '

(Buneary's a popular gal if she has her own freaking heard. I wonder if it's a heard of other bunearys, or... Oh lord, maybe it's a heard of pikachus. A dream come true for her, I'm sure. XD)

 **#7:** '… He was sitting against the tree… fully **explosed…** '

(Oh, shit! Sounds like he blew up! D:)

 **#8:** 'groaning loudly as he… finished. **Climatically,** at that.'

(I'm pretty sure that word has something to do with the climate, so.. has Pikachu been playing one of those world making games, or something? Like SimEarth?)

 **#9:** "[After all, I'll bet you're not **complained** ]"

(She wasn't complained. She is complaining _now_ , but she wasn't before.)

 **#10:** 'he sunk lower against the grass, almost laying **down completely down.** '

(Slick dance moves, yo!)

 **#11:** 'It'd made his blood boil. Especially when he fought for Buneary's paw in marriage.'

(Who? Pikachu? XD)

 **#11:** 'I think there's a bun in the **open!** '

(I guess someone forgot their lunch. Maybe Celebi could eat it, being as hungry as she is!)

 **#12:** 'They wandered off to a different camp'

(I guess Brock and Dawn are fed up with Ash's company, so they went to go crash someone else's camp.)

 **#13:** 'Pikachu sighed lightly in an amused **away.** '

(What, is he disappearing while sighing? XP)

 **#14:** ' _The glowing colors surrounding her began to flash rapidly instead, **going brighty and brighter** until...'_

(Brighty and brighter? Sounds like a little kid's show. XD)

Right, and with that, I'm off. Toodles for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Tales!_

* * *

 **-Bonus material that ravengal wrote for a right laff while I was in the shower-**

"[Oh, lord...]" he said, holding up a piece of paper. "[Pikachu forgot to bring his sketch along with him.]"

"[Huh? Sketch?]" Buneary replied, head tilted.

"[Yes, of him and his Celebi friend.]" He handed the paper over, opening it up as he did. "[Behold for yourself.]"

Buneary blinked. "[... Pokémon porn?]"

"[... What?!]" Piplup spun the paper around. Upon seeing what was on it, he blushed. "[Oh... this appears to be the incorrect sketch...]"

Ambipom cracked up laughing. "[You're not lookin' away, though, boner bird!]" she said.

"[Yes, well... it is a rather masterful bit of artwork. Incredibly detailed...]"

Buneary hummed in thought. "[Say, can I look at it again?]" she asked.

"[Huh?]" Ambipom asked, still grinning. "[What for? Research?]"

Buneary winked at her. "[You know it.]"

* * *

... I wonder if this counts as a fanfic of my fanfic. Welp, it's flattering, so I'mma counting it! Thanks, rg, bby. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


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